Melody Barnes: Mama Who Bore Me
by JanaeSpecter14
Summary: Six months the fact about her mother has been swirling around in her head. She's been searching for answers, but they always lead to a dead end. Clint's gone and she hasn't felt more alone. Now with this new threat to her family and this new attitude, she has to understand where the lines are drawn and where she stands. Sequel to Melody Barnes: I Am Iron Man (Iron Man 2)
1. Rebel With a Cause

"_**Mama who bore me. Mama who gave me. Mama, the angels. Mama who made me so sad. Mama, the weeping. Mama, the angels. Now way to handle things. Mama who made me so bad. No sleep in Heaven or Bethlehem"**_

_**Mama Who Bore Me from Spring Awakening**_

* * *

**6 MONTHS LATER**

Melody looked in the mirror of her hotel dresser as she did her eyeliner. She looked over to the corner of the mirror where she could see the Stark Expo opening ceremonies on the TV. She rolled her eyes with a smile as she saw Tony's cheesy smile once the suit was being taken off of him. He bowed to the crowd in his tux once it was completely taken off and the dancers continued as the crowd went wild. "Oh, it's good to be back." Tony told the crowd once the dancers left the stage. "Did anybody miss me?" Melody stood up from her seat and put on her diamond stud earrings as she adjusted her dress, trying to show a bit more cleavage.

Melody had changed in the last six months. Anyone who really knew her could tell. She wore a lot of makeup, showed a lot of skin and slept with a lot of guys. At first, Tony thought she was just rebelling since she never did it in her teenage days, but this was lasting longer than a normal rebellious phase. She wasn't just rebelling, she was angry and she was going to be the "new Melody" until she was no longer angry. "I'm not saying the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years thanks to me." Melody rolled her eyes at Tony's usual full of himself attitude. "I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity that never has a phoenix metaphor been so perfectly personified in human history. I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair and sip on an ice tea because I haven't come across anyone whose man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day."

Everyone cheered out and Tony seemed to enjoy it for a moment, but then put his hand next to his face, trying to stop them. "Please, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why for the next year, for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations of the world will pull their resources, share their collective vision to leave behind a brighter future." Everyone cheered as he threw his hands in the air. "It's not about us. Therefore, what I am saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo."

Everyone cheered on as Melody shook her head. "You are so full of shit." She commented with a smile. "You always are good at making speeches."

"And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard."

"Sorry, Gramps." Melody spoke as she shut off the TV. "I've got to go."

She walked out the door in her tight, black dress and got out of the hotel, flagging a cab down. Pepper was also worried about Melody's new actions. She had a new boyfriend that no one liked at all. He was just sketchy and Tony especially hated him. He knew he wasn't good for Melody, but Melody didn't even really treat him like a boyfriend and he didn't treat her like a girlfriend. They continued to sleep with other people which was exactly what Melody was planning on doing tonight.

She got to a club and danced most of the night away. She flirted with anyone who noticed her and drank a lot. She even ended up going home with someone, but when she woke up with her eyeliner smeared and a man's shirt on, she had no memory of what had happened the night before.

She slowly sat up in the bed, quickly realizing she was in a hotel room. Melody hated the night when she woke up. She hated not knowing what was going on, but she loved the nights when she got to be wild. When she got to go insane and rebel. It was a way for her to avoid her problems. A way for her to get out her anger in a fun way.

When she got out of the bed, she began to look around the room, trying to get some clue about whose room she was in. After walking around the bedroom, she found a picture of Justin Hammer with Senator Stern. "Holy shit." She said in a fearful voice as she put the picture back down. She looked around, knowing she had to get her clothes on and get out. She didn't want to know which one of the two she slept with.

Right when she slipped her dress on, the door opened and Justin Hammer walked in with two coffees. Melody looked at him as she bit her lip with her heels in her hands. "I didn't expect you to want to stick around." He told her as he extended his arm with one of the coffees in it.

Melody walked towards him, feeling so embarrassed. She was supposed to stand in front of him in court in an hour and here she was leaving his bedroom as a sloppy one night stand. "Thank you." She whispered as she took the coffee and he nodded.

Once Melody got out of the room, she got in the elevator to the floor right below the penthouse suite and snuck into her adjoining room with Pepper. Right when Melody shut the door carefully, not to alert Pepper, she heard, "Young lady, where have you been?!"

Melody cringed. She didn't need a mother. She had something better. A Pepper. When Melody turned around, she put on her best smile while Pepper was standing in front of her, her arms crossed as she looked at Melody disapprovingly. "Hey, Pep."

Pepper walked up to her and smacked her on the back of the head. "Why are you such an idiot?" Melody opened her mouth to say something, but Pepper picked up her hand to silence her. "Don't even answer. You have to get ready. Now." She pushed Melody forward, making her stumble a bit. "Your dress is ready. Put it on quick and I'll give you medicine for the hangover you'll be feeling in a minute."

Melody rolled her eyes as she slipped on her professional looking black polka dotted dress and sat on the bed, waiting for Pepper. She gave her the medicine and a cup of water before sitting on the bed behind her, beginning to brush her hair. "I'm sorry I'm such an idiot." Melody told her as Pepper began to brush out the knots in her hair.

Pepper gave her a small smile. "Well, you're not an idiot." Melody smiled as Pepper began to put Melody's hair into a fishtail braid. "The choices you make are idiotic."

Melody sighed and shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"I know you're trying to have fun and get your anger out in some way that involves you not talking about your anger, but you need to talk to someone, Melody."

"I'm not ready to talk to anyone."

"It's been six months, honey. You have to talk to someone. I know finding out the truth about Clint was tough-"

"This isn't about him!" She snapped. Pepper looked at her in the mirror, shocked. Melody felt bad for snapping at Pepper and then shrugged, thinking about how to make up for it. "At least I'm not moping around the house like I did the first few months."

Pepper sighed as she rolled her eyes. When Melody was a teenager, she never had to deal with anything like this. She didn't have a bad bone in her body, but now she felt like she was dealing with a teenager. "I don't want to argue with you, Melody." She finished the braid, Melody adjusting her smeared makeup, actually making herself presentable before standing up and taking a deep breath, getting herself ready for the court.

* * *

Tony and Melody sat at a table facing all the senators who were against the Iron Man suit. Since they were the ones who created it, they were the ones who were in trouble. Tony currently had his back turned to the Senate Armed Services Committee and was flirting with Pepper. "Mr. Stark, can we pick up where we left off?" Pepper began to signal for him to turn around. "Mr. Stark, please?"

Tony turned around quickly with a smile. "Yes, dear?"

Melody cracked a smile as she crossed her arms, ready for what they had to tell them now. "Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely."

"Do the two of you or do the two of you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"We do not." Melody spoke into the microphone confidently.

"You do not?"

"We do not." Melody continued. "But it depends on how you define weapon."

"The Iron Man one."

"Our device does not fit that description." Tony told Senator Stern.

Senator Stern leaned forward, obviously annoyed with the two. "How would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining what it is, Senator." Melody told him, a little forcefully, getting annoyed with Senator Stern as well.

"As?" He asked, biting back to her snarky remark.

Tony looked to Melody, trying to find the right words. "It's a high tech prosthesis." Everyone laughed as Melody shrugged, knowing that's exactly what it is. "That is actually the most adept description."

"It's a weapon, Mr. Stark."

Melody rolled her eyes and began speaking. "If your priority was actually the wellbeing-"

"My priority," He cut in, causing Melody to let out a deep breath to cool her down. "Is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"Well you can't have it." Melody smiled at Senator Stern's face as Tony continued to talk. "I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To hand over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution depending on what state you're in." The crowd laughed, but Tony and Melody kept their straight faces. "You can't have it."

"Look, I'm no expert-"

"In prostitution?" Tony asked. "Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." He banged his hand on the table and turned to Pepper as the entire crowd burst into a laugh. She didn't seem impressed at all.

"I'm no expert in weapons, but we have someone here who is an expert. I would like to call on Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

Melody sunk into her seat at the sight of Hammer from embarrassment. She hated that she had to see Hammer after their night she didn't even remember. _It was just casual sex_, she thought to herself, _be a woman and get over your embarrassment_. "Let the record reflect that I observe Mr. Hammer entering the chamber and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance."

Justin moved over to his seat, giving Tony a tight smile at the insult as he picked up his water and began to drink from it as Senator Stern pounded his gavel. "Absolutely," Justin spoke through a laugh. "I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. You and little Melly over there, all grown up." He turned to Melody and gave her a wink, causing her to pick up her glass of water and take a long drink of it. "Senator Stern," Tony was looking at Melody with a confused face as Justin stood up, but she couldn't look at Tony. She had really messed up this time. So much that she couldn't even look at Tony. "I may well not be an expert, but you know who was _the _expert?" He turned to Tony and pointed at him. "Your dad. Howard Stark." Melody looked over at Justin while shaking her head. She had no idea how he got to her at all. Drunk or not. "Kind of like a father to us all and to the military industrial age."

Hammer stood up, standing in front of the audience as Tony and Melody continued to stare him down, hating that he was talking about their relative. "Let's just be clear. He was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here and in the last six months, Anthony Stark created a sword with untold possibilities and yet he insists it's a shield." He gave them an imitating face, causing Melody to subtly flick him off, resulting in a smiling approval from Tony. "He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony. I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house. Well, this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of great threat. Threat that, Mr. Stark and Miss. Barnes will not always be able to foresee." He moved his microphone down on the desk right before saying, "Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America."

A few people clapped as Melody looked around at them like they were crazy, knowing the only reason he got a clap at all was because he said 'God bless America' "That is well said, Mr. Hammer." Senator Stern said into his microphone as Melody leaned into her seat, bored with the entire thing. "The committee would now like to invite Lt. Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

Both Tony and Melody's eyes grew wide at the name. "Rhodey?" Tony asked incredulously as they both turned around to see him walking into the room with their mouths dropped. Tony walked over to him as cameras flashed pictures of Rhodey walking into the room. Justin Hammer stood up and began staring at Melody, causing her to give him the middle finger again. "Hey buddy." Tony told Rhodey. "Didn't expect to see you here." He told him as they leaned in, shaking hands.

Rhodey sighed. "It's me. I'm here. Deal with it."

"I just-"

"Drop it!"

"Fine, I'll drop it."

They continued walking to Melody, sitting down on opposite sides of her and turning back to Senator Stern. "They have for me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon compiled by Colonel Rhodes. Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph 4?"

"You're suggesting that I read specific selections from my reports, sir?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, sir."

"It was my understanding that I would be testifying in a much more comprehensive way." Melody watched him nervously, knowing this paragraph was going to be bad.

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today."

"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of an entire context doesn't reflect-"

"Just read it, Colonel." Senator Stern cut him off as he leaned back into his seat. "I do."

He looked at Tony and Melody apologetically before looking back to his report. "As he does not operate with any branch of the government," He paused, looking up from his report guiltily before looking back down. "Iron Man presents a potential threat to both the security and the nation and to her interests." Melody sighed loudly as she turned to Tony. "I did in fact go on to summarize the benefits of Iron Man-"

"That's enough, Colonel." Rhodey continued to talk who kept getting interrupted by Senator Stern.

Tony was done with this entire situation, not taking any of it seriously anymore. "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense if you ask nicely." Melody smiled at him as she leaned back into her seat, causing Pepper to worry that Tony was becoming a role model to her now more than ever. And she wasn't admiring Tony's good parts. "And if you can bend the hours a little bit."

Senator Stern rolled his eyes at Tony before turning back to Rhodey. "I'd like to go on and show the imagery that's connected to your report."

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time."

"Yes, Colonel, I understand and if you could just narrate those for us we would be very grateful, Colonel."

Rhodey hated how they were overly polite and he hated how they had his hands tied, but this was his job. He nodded to the person controlling the computer and took a drink of water, preparing himself. "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are in fact attempts at making copies of Mr. Stark and Miss. Barnes's suit."

Melody rolled her eyes as she pulled out a hacking device and nudged Tony to make him look as he was currently pretending to be falling asleep. "Let's have some fun with them, shall we?"

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I am currently hacking into every database showed on that screen to get videos of their 'suits'."

Tony gave her a confused look after her sentence. "Did you mean to put air quotes around the word suits, but didn't have the hands to do it?"

"Shut up." She mumbled as she continued working.

"…are currently operational."

She nodded as Rhodey finished his sentence and put her device on the table. "Let me show you something." She hit a button as she aimed the device at the computer screen. "Wow, I'm good." Melody commented as the computer began to go ballistic from being hacked.

"You accommodated their screens." Tony spoke as he watched her work in wonderment.

"I need them." She spoke a she turned to the other one, taking it over as well. "Let's see what's really going on."

"What is she doing?" Senator Stern asked in a concerned voice as he leaned forward.

"Well," Tony began happily. "If you'll direct your attention to said screens," He looked over at the screen as Melody began displaying a video on it. "I believe that's North Korea." Melody turned to him and nodded. "It is North Korea." Tony corrected.

Their version of the suit took a few steps before toppling over and sending out bullets, injuring the few that were there. "Turn that off." Senator Stern commanded.

Justin Hammer stood up quickly and moved to the computer screen in an attempt to turn it off. "Iran." Melody said in a bored tone as she looked over to the other screen. Their suit ended in an explosion. "No grave or immediate threat here."

"Is that Justin Hammer?" Tony asked in a fake voice as he looked over to the other screen.

He and Melody shared a smile before looking back to the screen. "How did Hammer get in here?" Melody asked in a playful tone as Hammer tried even harder to get the screen to stop.

"Justin, you're on TV." Tony told him. He and Melody leaned back in the chair, taking pride in the chaos they had created before looking to Rhodey who gave them a slight smile before putting the glass of water to his lips.

Hammer finally just unplugged the screens making all the footage go away before hurrying back to his seat, embarrassed. "Wow." Melody commented.

"I'd say most countries are five, ten years away." Tony commented while looking back to Senator Stern. "Hammer Industries: twenty."

Hammer fumbled with the microphone before holding it steady. "I would like to point out that the test pilot survived."

"I think we're done with the point that they're making." Senator Stern commented as he jumped out of his seat, beginning to panic. "I don't think there's any-"

"The point is, you're welcome." Tony told him as he leaned on his hand while looking up at him in a bored way.

"For what?"

"Because he's your new nuclear deterrent." Melody told him obviously. "It's working. We're safe. America's safe."

"You want our property?" Tony cut in passionately. "You can't have it, but we did you a big favor." He stood up and turned to the audience dramatically. "I've successfully privatized world peace." He threw up the peace sign as the audience erupted in applause, giving him a standing ovation. "What more do you want?" He asked everyone. "I've tried to play ball with these ass clowns."

"Fuck you, Mr. Stark." Senator Stern spoke as he leaned forward as Melody made like she couldn't hear what he was saying. "Fuck you, buddy." Melody in return put up her middle finger with a shrug, resulting in a clap on the back from Tony. "We're done for the day." Tony leaned forward to get his sunglasses as they both began blowing kisses to the senators. "You've both been a delight."

The two walked through the crowd, enjoying the praise, giving the audience a few words and then making it out of the room. They were greeted by sudden quietness, enjoying the lack of noise for a moment before Tony put his arm around Melody's shoulders. "Let's go get a burger, kid."

**_The new story is here! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and sorry it took so long to get it posted. I've been busy. What do you think about Melody's new bad girl attitude? Review your thoughts!_**


	2. Natalie Rushman

_**So happy that a lot of you stayed with me on this new story! Oh, Melody's new boyfriend is portrayed by Grey Damon and Melody's personal trainer is portrayed by Douglas Booth. And don't worry, loves. Clint will show up, but just not right away. Enjoy!**_

Melody began to throw clothes out of her closet as a loud rock song played. She was getting rid of all of her innocent looking clothes and replacing them with sexier ones. Her boyfriend, Kyle, was lying on his bed with his shirt off, watching her. He had a flawless, defined face, finished with a five o'clock shadow. He had green blue eyes and an absolutely toned body. One thing you could automatically pick up from him, was the obvious bad boy persona. "We haven't done much talking since you've been back."

"And that's how I like it." She told him as she moved to her mirror and put a bra top over herself, trying to picture how she would look with it on.

"Babe," He began as he got up to stand behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "How was DC?"

"Infuriating." She admitted as she put the bra top down, turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I saw you on TV flicking off Senator Stern." She nodded while biting her lip. "It was really hot." He picked her up swiftly and threw her down on the bed as she rolled her eyes with a smile. "You want to go for round two?"

"Kyle!" She yelled as she hit him on the arm, both of them leaning into each other's smiles. "I got an early flight. Tony is on a plane coming back right now and you know you're banned."

"Who cares about Mom?" Melody laughed, but on the inside, she wanted to slap him in the face. She hated it when he referred to Tony as a mom, but she put up with it because she wanted to be bad and stupid for once in her life. "Why don't you come to my apartment and stay all day with me? You'll never have to get out of bed."

She pushed him off of her, alarming him with her strength. "You have to get out of here before Tony comes home."

Kyle stood up from the bed and put on his shirt while Melody put on the bra top she was looking at and some tight leather jeans. The two hurried down the stairs, knowing Tony was going to be home any minute and right when they opened the front door, Tony was standing there. Melody cringed as she watched his face fall once he saw Kyle. "Get out of my house." Tony told him instantly.

Kyle looked to Melody, leaning forward and giving her a kiss, trying to make it long and passionate to annoy Tony. It was working too. Tony rolled his eyes as they kissed and once they broke apart, Kyle looked to Tony with a nod. "As you wish, Mom."

Melody gritted her teeth as he walked out of the house and Tony turned to look at him. "I hate you. Just letting you know." Kyle turned around, about to say something else when Tony slammed the door and turned to Melody. "Why?" He asked like he didn't understand. "Why do you stay with him?"

"Because I like him." She told him as she turned around so he wouldn't be able to see her face.

"No you don't." Melody rolled her eyes, knowing Tony was able to see right through her. "I'm pretty sure you hate him." Tony sighed as she made her way down into the workshop, knowing she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. "I liked Clint. What happened to Clint?"

"You know what happened to Clint!" She yelled as she turned back to him.

"Yeah," He sighed out. "He turned out to be an agent from SHIELD, but he was good for you. You loved him. He loved you. He didn't change you." He furrowed his eyebrows, realizing something. "Why exactly did you two break up?"

Melody bit her lip once she made it down in the workshop. She hadn't told Tony. Strike that. She hadn't told _anybody_ about what Clint told her about her mother and what she really was to SHIELD. She didn't want to tell anyone. She wanted to keep it all to herself even if she knew that wasn't the healthy thing to do. "Everything he said to me was a lie. How can I trust him enough to be in a relationship with him after that?" Melody sat down on one of the chairs in the workshop and picked up a nearby wrench, beginning to play with it sadly. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Tony sighed as he walked up to her and planted a kiss on her head, causing her to give him a slight smile. Tony loved that even though she had changed her personality completely, he, and only him, could still bring the old Mel out on a good day. He moved over to his work station and clapped his hands, causing all his technology to turn on. "Wake up. Daddy's home."

"Welcome home, sir." Jarvis's voice came through, causing Melody to smile. "Congratulations on the opening ceremonies which were such a success. As was your senate hearing with Miss. Barnes. Good job, Melody." She smiled up at Jarvis as a video of them walking away from the committee came up on one of the monitors. "And may I say how refreshing it is to see you in a video with your clothing on, sir."

Both Tony and Melody laughed until they heard a sound from the sink. Dummy was trying to make a smoothie, but looked like he was just making a mess. "You!" Tony called, causing Dummy to stop what he was doing. "I swear to god I'll dismantle you, I'll soak your motherboard and turn you into a wine rack." Dummy put his head down as Melody gave him a small smile. She really did love Dummy even if he was a screw up. Tony looked over at Melody nervously to see her smiling at Dummy. "Hey, Mel." She looked over to him as he began working on his computer. "I left my phone upstairs. You mind getting it for me?"

She stood up from her seat with a sigh and headed upstairs. He made sure she was out of earshot when he leaned down to get out a bottle with the black liquid he was forced to drink and he asked, "How many ounces a day do I have to drink of this stuff?"

"We're up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir."

After he finished the bottle he needed to drink, he pulled out the device he had made while Melody had spent a whole week at Kyle's apartment. "Checking palladium levels."

He pricked his finger on the device and frowned once he saw the number. "Blood toxicity: 24%. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition." Tony lifted up his shirt and took out the arc reactor, ready to change it out. "Another core has been completed." Jarvis announced as he pulled out the palladium core in the arc reactor.

"God, they're running out quick." He told Jarvis as he pulled it out and opened a case with more of the cores, putting it inside the arc reactor.

"I have run simulations on every known element and none can serve the survival replacement of the palladium core." Once he put it back in his body, he picked up his shirt and began looking at it in the webcam. "You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that is keeping you alive is also killing you." He stared at it, noticing the way it was making a pattern throughout his body in black. "Miss Barnes and Miss. Potts are approaching." Tony quickly put his shirt down and looked to the two women who were obviously arguing about Melody's outfit. "I recommend you tell them-"

"Mute." He spoke once the door opened and their arguing was audible.

He picked up the bottle he was drinking, ready to finish all of it. Pepper looked away from Melody and then turned her attention to Tony. "Is this a joke? What are you thinking?"

"Someone's in trouble." Melody sang as she leaned against one of his computer monitors and handed him his phone.

He gave her a look as he took it from her and then snapped his fingers before turning back to Pepper. "What?"

"What are you thinking?!" She then turned to Melody. "We're still not done with our conversation!"

Melody looked away from her and Tony put his hands up while scooting his chair away from her. "I'm thinking I'm busy and you're angry about something." He stood up from his chair and moved away from her, but Pepper kept following and Melody jumped up on one of the counters, watching with an amused face. "Do you have the sniffles? I don't want to get sick." He told her, trying to get any excuse to be far away from her.

"Did you just donate our_ entire_ modern art collection to the-"

"The Boy Scouts of America." He finished for her as he crumpled up a hologram of a file he didn't need.

"The Boy Scouts of America?!" She screamed at him as he turned around and threw the hologram into a target which deleted the file for him and gave him a score for his throw while he gave her an excuse for donating the art collection to them.

"And it's not our collection. It's my collection. No offense."

Pepper's eyes grew wide and Melody smiled a little bit. She was starting to enjoy chaos a lot more. "No. You know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say our collection considering the time I put in. I spent over ten years curating that."

"It's a tax write up. I needed that."

"You know," Pepper began as he walked off and she looked down at the tablet in her hands. "There's only about eight thousand and eleven things I really need to talk to you about." She took a deep breath as she followed him and Melody adjusted herself so she could watch them. Tony tried to move away from her, but she went around and got right in front of him. "The expo is gigantic waste of time."

He moved up to her and put his hands on her shoulders as she coughed, her nose obviously red from rubbing it. "I need you to wear a surgical mask until you feel better."

He walked away from her, but she just followed. "That's rude."

"There's nothing more important to me than the expo. That's my primary point of concern."

"The expo is your ego going crazy." Melody commented as she began to stare at her nails.

"Whose side are you on?" Tony asked and Melody just shrugged. He leaned down to pick up an Iron Man picture and began admiring it. "That's modern art." Melody and Pepper looked at each other and then back at Tony. "That's going up."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Melody spoke as she got up from her seat. She didn't like to show it, but she cared about the modern art collection just as much as Pepper did.

"I'm putting this up right now." He began to walk around, trying to find a place to put it.

He and Pepper began arguing about stocks as Melody followed him worriedly trying to stop him from putting the picture up. "No!" Melody screamed once she saw where he was going with it. "You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and putting that up!"

"I'm not putting it down, I'm just replacing it with this."

Melody turned to Pepper with panicked eyes. "Do something."

"Oh," Pepper spoke like she was surprised with her. "You actually care about something?" Melody let out a frustrated growl as Tony ignored them, continuing to put up his picture. "I cannot believe that Melody Barnes actually cares about something. Someone call the Huffington Post."

"I literally want to strangle you!"

"You mean figuratively?" Tony asked.

She turned to him with angry eyes. "No. I mean literally."

She turned to Pepper who turned back to Tony, continuing to argue with him about business as Melody took the Barnett Newman and began dusting it off as if to make sure it was okay. "I'm trying to make you CEO." Melody turned over to look at Tony and began to smile as she moved over to the fridge to get the champagne. "Why won't you let me?"

She leaned forward and smelled him. "Have you been drinking?"

"Chlorophyll." He knew that answer would make both Pepper and Melody happy since they had been trying to get him to drink it for years. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes intensely. "I hear by irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately."

She stared at him blankly as Melody reached up into the cabinet to pull out three champagne glasses. "He's actually given this a fair amount of thought." She told Pepper as she handed her and Tony their glasses. "Believe it or not."

Pepper looked at her as she pushed her down into a seat. "What about you? Don't you want to be CEO?"

Melody scoffed as she began to pour her glass. "After all the drama that went on six months ago with all of that, I never want to hear my name and CEO in the same sentence ever again." She looked to Pepper as she finished pouring her glass. "I love my job at Stark Industries anyway."

She moved over to Tony and began pouring her glass. "I thought there would be a legal issue." Tony told Pepper. "But I'm capable of appointing my own successor. My successor being you."

She shook her head as Melody began to pour her own champagne glass. "Congratulations." She told her once she was finished and raised her glass to hers.

"I don't know what to think." She spoke as she looked back and forth between Melody and Tony.

"Don't think." Tony told her as Melody sat down in front of them. She laughed as they all clinked their glasses and began drinking. Even though both of them drove her crazy, they were the best things in her life. "I say we celebrate at your favorite restaurant, Pepper."

"Let's go." Melody spoke as she put her champagne glass down and began helping her up.

"You're not going like that." Pepper commanded while pointing at her outfit.

Melody rolled her eyes as she pushed her towards the stairs. "Fine."

Once they got upstairs, Melody changed into a dress that was still revealing, but not as bad a s the bra top and leather jeans. When she walked down the stairs to the living room, she looked all around for her phone and then sighed, knowing exactly where it was. "My phone is in the workshop. I'll be right back."

Melody hurried down the steps of the workshop and pulled her phone out of her purse, going to the new app she had designed that she could use with Jarvis. "Hey, Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss. Barnes?"

She made a hologram of the pictures she had gotten from the Washington DC security cameras while she was there. "What are the results for the current search on Emily Barnes?"

She began to zoom in on the picture, almost positive this woman in the crowd was her mother. "I have not found the record of Emily Barnes anywhere in the United States."

Melody sighed as she continued to study the picture. "Then SHIELD is doing a really good job at hiding her identity."

"Miss. Barnes," Jarvis began in a cautious tone, knowing Melody was going to shoot down his suggestion anyway. "I think you should tell Mr. Stark about what Mr. Barton revealed to you about your mother and why the two of you broke up and that you're searching for your mother right now."

"Jarvis," She sighed out. "What have I told you about keeping secrets?"

He sighed. "You told me to remember to quote from Benjamin Franklin."

She nodded with a smile. "And what quote is that?"

"'Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.'"

"Precisely." She called as she made her way up the stairs and gave Tony and Pepper an innocent smile. "Ready."

* * *

The next day, they were in the gym. Melody had been going there every single day. She loved boxing. It was a great way for her to get her anger out that didn't involve alcohol and sex. She started her training with Happy, but she quickly got too good for him. She had to end up getting a personal trainer that she could beat the crap out of. A personal trainer that she had a few nights with from time to time.

As Tony was training with Happy and Melody with Joey, Pepper walked in to the gym, sighing when she saw all of them boxing. "The notary is here! Can you please come sign the transfer papers?"

"I'm on Happy time!" Tony called out as they all continued their boxing.

"That all you got, Joey?" Melody taunted after throwing a punch at his face.

"I can see where she gets her attitude, Mr. Stark." Joey commented after wrapping his arm around her neck and flipping her over.

"I know." Tony called out as he ducked from a hit from Happy. "She's like a mini me lately." Tony went up quickly and elbowed Happy in the nose, causing Happy to give him an instant death glare. "Sorry." Tony told him quickly.

"What the hell was that?!" Happy asked him as Melody and Joey cracked smiles as they continued to fight.

"It's mixed martial arts. It's been around for…three weeks."

"It's called dirty boxing and there's nothing new about it."

The two began boxing again as Melody and Joey continued to beat the crap out of each other. When Melody looked up from dodging a hit from Joey, she saw a woman with dark red hair wearing black slacks and a white blouse. Something about her looked familiar. It was something she couldn't quite place. She was immediately brought out of her trance by being hit in the face so hard she could hear her teeth chatter. She had gotten used to hits like that, though. After that, she got right back up and began fighting again. Natasha…I mean Natalie was quite impressed. "I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper called as Natalie moved forward with a document.

Tony was also confused by this woman's presence. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, finding her one of the most attractive person he had ever seen. Happy punched him in the head while he was staring, trying to get him back in the fight which kind of upset Tony. "Lesson number one," Happy began as Tony moved towards him. "Never take your eye off-" He was cut off by Tony punching him so hard that he was thrown into the edge of the boxing ring.

Tony turned to the woman after Happy was down and Melody called a time out with Joey, just wanting to know where she knew this woman from. "What's your name, lady?" Tony asked her.

"Rushman." She answered instantly, kind of like she was nervous which made Melody knit her eyebrows in confusion as she took a long drink of water. "Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center." Tony called. "Come into the church."

"No." Pepper protested instantly. "You're not seriously going to ask her-"

"If it pleases the court." Tony told her with a shrug. "Which it does."

"I don't mind." She told Pepper politely with a smile as she began to walk up to the boxing ring.

"I'm sorry." Pepper told her. "He's very eccentric."

Tony and Melody both moved over to lift the ropes for her, Melody trying to get a closer look at her face to place her with a memory. Tony drank his black fluid while staring at her and all she did was smile back. Once Tony was done drinking, he leaned forward and asked, "What?" All she did was smile wider at him, both of them knowing that he wouldn't of heard anything she said if she even did talk. "Can you give her a lesson?" Tony asked Happy.

"Yeah," Melody spoke as she turned to Joey. "You help out."

Melody and Tony both went under the ropes and moved over to Pepper, sitting down on opposite sides of her while still watching Natalie. "Who is she?" Tony asked her.

"She's from a legal and she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that."

"She looks familiar." Melody spoke as Tony and Pepper began their usual bickering by talking over each other.

"I don't have time to meet." Tony spoke to Pepper about new assistants. "I need someone now and I think it's her."

"No. It's not." Pepper told him while shutting her phone, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

They all looked back to Natalie, Happy and Joey, Melody feeling like the memory of her was on the tip of her tongue. "How do I spell your name, Natalie?"

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N."

"What? Are you googling her?" Melody asked as she leaned over to the table Tony was currently using, trying to get a good look.

"Very, very impressive." He spoke, ignoring Melody. "She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin." He turned to look at Pepper. "Who speaks Latin?"

"No one speaks Latin. It's a dead language." She answered.

"I speak Latin." Melody spoke before taking a long drink of her water.

"You're a genius." She told Melody quickly before looking back to Tony. "You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can't speak it."

"Did you know she modeled?" Pepper scoffed while looking away from the tablet and back to Natalie, starting to feel threatened. "She's everything I'm looking for."

Right as Melody and Tony looked back over to Natalie, she blocked a hit from Happy and flipped him over before knocked Joey to the ground.

"Shit!" Melody exclaimed.

"OH!" Tony yelled.

"Oh, my god!" Pepper hurried to stand up as Tony and Melody continued to watch. "Happy! Joey!"

"That's what I'm talking about." Tony spoke as he stood up, but Melody kept watching Natalie. Those moves had something to do with her memory, but she couldn't quite place it.

"I slipped." Happy spoke, slightly offended.

"Really?" Tony asked. "Looks like TKO to me."

"What happened, Joseph?" Melody asked as she finally stood up from her seat, again only to try to get a better look at Natalie.

"Shut the fuck up." He told her with a smile as he got out of the ring, followed by Natalie.

"I need your impression." She told Tony as Melody continued to watch her as Joey told her the new workout plan she needed.

"Quiet. Reserved. Kind of an old soul."

"I mean your fingerprint." She told him with an innocent smile.

He did as he was told on the legal document to make it official and then looked to Pepper. "You're the boss."

"See you later?" Joey asked, ripping Melody from her stare.

"Yeah." She told him before leaning in for a hug and then watching him walk out before turning back to Natalie, Tony and Pepper.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" She asked him in a preppy voice.

"No." Tony spoke as Pepper said, "Yes. That will be all Miss. Rushman. Thank you very much."

Natalie walked past Melody, causing Melody to give her a slight smile as she walked by before hurrying over to Tony and Pepper. "I want one." Tony spoke once he was sure she was gone.

"No." Pepper spoke instantly.

"I swear I know her." Melody spoke confidently.

"Drop it." Tony spoke as he moved past her, followed by Pepper, but Melody was not going to drop it. She was going to find out everything there was to know about Miss. Natalie Rushman.


	3. Madness at Monaco

Melody pulled her luggage into the hotel lobby, following Tony, Pepper and Happy. Pepper was checking them into their rooms while Tony and Happy were talking more about boxing. Melody began looking around the area. She had only been to Monaco a couple of times and she loved it. She thought the place was so beautiful. She couldn't wait to lounge in her bikini with Pepper and Natalie, who would be joining them later, trying to get more information on this girl who had just joined their pack.

As she looked around the lobby, she could see someone she hadn't seen in a really long time sitting at a small table on a cell phone. She felt like her heart had stopped completely from shock. "Clint." She breathed out. A group of people passed by, getting rid of her image of him. She moved past them quickly, not even knowing what she was doing, letting her legs take over. When she got past the people and in the view of the table again, he was gone.

"Melody!" She heard Tony yell out from behind her.

She looked all around the lobby when she spotted the grey jacket she had seen on him make its way out the door. This time, she ran. She pushed past everyone in the lobby, knocking someone down in the process and making it out the door. She checked every visible face, just trying to find Clint's. There was no sign of him anywhere. Not even of the grey jacket. She put a hand on her head while pushing her hair back, trying to process what happened. "I have to be seeing things." She whispered to herself. _But he seemed so real_, she thought.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder so she turned around quickly to see Tony jump from how fast she turned around. "Hey, are you okay?"

She looked back out at the crowd, searching again for any sign of Clint. Something. Anything. "Yeah." She finally answered as she continued to look, knowing it was pointless. "I just thought…" She trailed off while still searching, just wanting to see him again. Just wanting to know that she wasn't crazy.

She felt Tony put a hand on her shoulder and began to lead her towards the hotel again, but she continued to look out. "Let's get settled in. The race is in a few hours." He knew she was upset about something and he wanted to make her feel better, but he had no idea how and he had no idea why she was upset. "We can go out and get real macaroons after." She nodded and leaned into the grip he had on her as he guided her into the hotel. "What happened out there?" He asked in a whisper.

"I thought," She began in a small voice, wanting to look back, but knowing it was useless. "I thought I saw someone."

"Who?" he asked, genuinely interested.

She shook her head while taking a deep breath and moving out of his grip. "No one."

He watched her walk towards the stairs with her head down, feeling his heart break at the way she walked. She looked so disappointed and heartbroken. All he wanted to do was run to her, scoop her in his arms and tuck her into bed while curling up with her like when she was a little girl and they could nap after school. He wanted the Melody who told him everything and relied on him for the simplest things. He wanted the old Melody back.

* * *

Clint had just slipped into the car without being seen by Melody. He took a deep breath and leaned into his seat as the driver began driving them far away from the hotel. "Hello, Clint." He jumped when he heard Emily's voice, not expecting her here at all. She was staring down at her phone, wearing her SHIELD uniform, her nails a freshly polished orange and her yellow hair in the usual big, cascading curls. "How are you today?"

He felt the anger bubbling through his whole body. "You sent me on this mission. You knew she'd be here!"

"That's precisely _why_ I sent you on this mission."

"What are you talking about?" He asked her with an annoyed tone.

"Have you talked to your friend Natasha lately?"

Clint began to feel sudden worry. "No. Why?"

Emily turned to him with a smile. "Because she's now involved in my stage two plan."

"Did you send her in on a bullshit mission too?" He asked her harshly.

Emily rolled her eyes and turned back to her phone. "Fury sent her in to be Tony Stark's shadow agent."

Clint blinked a couple of time. "Tony Stark needs a shadow agent?" He really did miss that small family he had been accepted into. It was probably the only real family he had.

"Iron Man does."

"He's a part of this plan?" Clint asked, still trying to wrap his brain around what he told her six months ago. "This phase two plan?"

She nodded and turned back to him with a smile. "And with Natasha's reports, Melody will be an excellent candidate."

* * *

Happy drove up to where the Grand Prix race was being held. The group got out of the car and said a quick hello to the fans before they all went into the VIP room to watch the race. As they walked inside the room, Pepper pulled Tony and Melody close to her. "No one do anything stupid."

"It's Europe." Tony told her obviously. "Whatever happens next, just go with it."

"Just go with it?" Pepper asked like she was about to dive into a lecture.

"Mr. Stark?" They all turned to see Natalie standing right in front of them.

"Hey." He told her excitedly, causing Pepper to roll her eyes and Melody to just smile at her jealousy.

"Hello." She told him with a polite smile. "How was your flight?"

"It was excellent. Very nice to see you."

Melody looked her up and down. The woman was gorgeous. "I love that dress." Melody commented, receiving a subtle hit from Pepper.

"Thank you, Miss. Barnes." Natalie told her carefully.

"Please," Melody told her while shaking her head. She didn't know if she could trust Natalie yet, but she might as well get as close to her as possible. "Call me Melody."

She nodded with her smile growing wider. "Melody." She looked over at Tony and Pepper again. "We have one photographer if you don't mind."

Natalie took the drinks from Tony and Pepper's hands as Melody was forced between Tony and Pepper. "When did this happen?" Pepper asked, still keeping her smile.

"What?" Tony asked innocently. "You made me do it." She was about to say something else when he turned her to the camera. "Smile. You look great." Melody smiled uncomfortably in the middle as Pepper laughed out her frustration. "Stop acting constipated. Don't flare your nostrils."

"You are so predictable." She told him with a smile still on her face as Melody broke out of the pose to get away from the arguing. "That's the amazing thing."

She moved to the bar, getting a bourbon and began to sip on it when Justin Hammer approached her. "Oh god." She whispered out before taking a long drink.

"Melody!" He told her excitedly while clapping her on the back.

"Wow," She told him with fake excitement. "It's my least favorite one night stand."

"How are you?" He asked as he leaned in for a hug which she returned quickly, knowing reporters were everywhere, watching their every move and not really paying attention to their conversations.

"Good." She answered as she pulled away from him.

"Can I get you another drink?"

"No." She answered once she had finished it. "I was just leaving."

She began to walk off when he jumped in front of her. "I actually came over here to ask you something."

"No sex." She told him instantly.

"This isn't about sex." He whispered into her ear. "This is a business proposition." She turned to look at him with wide eyes at the fact that he even had the audacity to begin this conversation. "I was thinking that if you ever wanted more than just a weapons designer than you can come over to Hammer Industries and maybe be VP."

"Are you serious right now?" She asked loudly, forgetting where she was for a moment. She looked around at everyone else in the room who hadn't taken notice in her yet and then turned back to Justin Hammer, leaning in so only he would be able to hear her. "Even if I did want a high up job, which I don't, I would never betray my family and go to Hammer Industries just so you could get the Iron Man design."

"That's right. I forgot that you're not as naïve as you used to be." He spoke as he leaned into her ear, trying to be as threatening as possible. "But I'm just looking out for you, Melody." She scoffed as she rolled her eyes while looking away from him. "How much of that Iron Man suit is your design?" She turned to look at him, knowing exactly what he was trying to do to her. "Tony takes all the credit for that suit and you take all the fall." Hammer looked over at Tony, causing Melody to look as he glided through the crowd, shaking hands with everyone. "Don't you want that? Don't you want to run your family's legacy? That CEO chair belongs to you. Not Pepper. Don't you want that? Don't you want all the praise the Iron Man has gotten?" She turned back to Hammer, gritting her teeth, hating that his trick was actually working. She was feeling jealousy, just like he planned. "You could have done it, you know? You could have been Iron Man."

Melody looked to the bar they were still by and saw a martini being passed to a woman nearby. She took it from the table before the woman could even pick it up and threw it into Hammer's face. His eyes shut and people around them watched, waiting to see what else would happen. She moved close to his face and growled, "Go to hell." She slammed the glass on the bar counter and looked to the bartender. "Put it on my tab."

He nodded and she walked off angrily in her heels, joining Tony and Pepper on the other side of the bar. "Get me a drink." She told Tony. "Now." He handed her his and she began to drink it quickly.

"Anthony!"

Melody rolled her eyes as she heard Hammer's voice. All she wanted to do was get out of there. She wanted to be the little girl who tugged on Tony's sleeve, told him she wanted to go home and he would listen, picking her up and taking her home to have a nap together. "My least favorite person on earth." Tony spoke as he turned to see Justin Hammer clapping his hand on his shoulder. "Justin Hammer."

"How are you doing?" Tony turned away from him, noticing how mad and upset Melody looked, lipping: what's wrong? "You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car."

Melody was about to pull Tony away from them and explain everything when Justin Hammer turned behind him and motioned for a girl to come over. "Really?!" Melody screamed out once she saw who it was.

"You know Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair?" Hammer asked, ignoring Melody's outburst.

"Yes." They all answered as one, Melody in a complaining tone, Tony like he wasn't comfortable and Pepper like she was trying to be polite.

"Roughly." Tony answered.

"Unfortunately." Melody mumbled under her breath.

"BTW, big story." Hammer said while leaning into Christine and pointing at Pepper. "New CEO of Stark Industries even if most thought it would end up being Melody." All three of them looked at him like they wanted to punch him at that remark, but he just laughed. "Congratulations, Pepper. Really."

"Thank you." She told him through her smile.

"My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote." She looked over at Pepper with a shy smile. "Can I?"

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair." Hammer cut in.

"Wow," Melody spoke while looking at him. "You have to be the spot of attention every second, don't you?"

Everyone laughed while Melody and Hammer glared at each other through their smiles. "Well," Pepper cut in while looking at Tony. "She did quite the spread on Tony last year." Melody nodded, knowing exactly what Pepper was talking about.

"And she did a story as well."

"Very impressive." Melody spoke as she nodded, Christine obviously looking embarrassed, but trying to hide it. "Very well done."

"Thank you." She spoke as she went through her purse and pulled out a recorder.

Melody rolled her eyes and turned to Pepper, hoping that she could save her. She grabbed Melody's arm beginning to lead her away. "We're gonna go-"

"Please don't leave me alone with them." Tony whispered, knowing they were still able to hear as Melody and Pepper walked off.

Once they found a corner of the restaurant that wasn't packed, Pepper put her hands on Melody's shoulders, looking her right in the eye. "What is wrong?"

Melody began hyperventilating and a few tears began to trickle out of her eyes, all of what had happened that day finally getting to her. "I feel like I'm on the edge of a nervous breakdown."

Pepper pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. Even if she didn't like the way Melody was acting, she loved all of Melody no matter what. "We can leave." She whispered into her ear. "You and I can just leave."

Melody moved out of her grip and began to walk towards the bathroom. "I just need a minute."

She hurried into the bathroom in anticipation, thrilled that she could break down in there when she saw Christine Everhart adjusting her makeup in the mirror. Melody sighed out, about to turn around when she called out, "Wait!" Melody stopped and looked at her skeptically. Christine took a paper towel from the dispenser, wet it and moved to Melody. "You have mascara running down your face."

She began to wipe it off as Melody continued to look at her with a confused face. "Why are you helping me?"

Christine shrugged as she finished wiping the mascara off. "We're girls. We look out for each other." She reached into her makeup bag and pulled out some foundation matching Melody's, putting it on her face. "Hammer's an ass."

Melody scoffed. "Yeah, you're telling me."

She brushed the make up onto her cheeks as Melody looked up at her, no longer skeptically, but in wonderment at the fact that a woman she had hated for so long was being so nice to her. "I don't know what he said to you, but don't take any of it personally." She went through her make up bag and pulled out some mascara, putting it on her. "What can Justin Hammer do to the all-powerful Melody Barnes anyway?" Melody laughed as she finished the makeup. "All done."

Christine turned back to her bag, mumbling for some lip gloss she was looking for when Melody went through her purse, pulling out her own. "Here, use this one. It'll go really great with your complexion."

"Thank you." Christine spoke as she looked at her in the mirror.

Right when she handed it back to her, Melody continued to study her in the mirror. "You know," Melody began. "Christine, I'm sorry for how mean I always am to you."

She shrugged. "I'm a reporter, you're a celebrity. It doesn't surprise me."

Melody nodded, understanding the line that divided them as celebrity and reporter would always be there. "You're not that bad."

Christine smiled at her. "You're not all that bad yourself." The two nodded to each other, knowing they would always be rivals in a way, but also respecting each other and even liking each other. Maybe they would never be able to be friends, but they would always be able to remember that one time in the girl's room in Monaco.

* * *

Melody had joined Pepper back at the table and the two were talking when Pepper looked up at the TV to see Tony wearing a driving suit right next to the Stark Industries car. Melody looked up at the TV, her mouth dropping. "Oh, my god." She whispered.

"Natalie!" Pepper called to the girl who wasn't standing far from them, watching the TV in awe like everyone else. "Natalie!"

She rushed over, finally looking away from the TV and at Pepper and Melody. "Yes, Miss. Potts?"

"Do you know anything about this?" Pepper asked.

"This is the first I've heard of it." Pepper sighed out while looking back at the TV worriedly.

Melody turned to her, looking right into Natalie's eyes, matching her panic. "This cannot happen."

"Absolutely." She spoke quickly, her voice completely calm and controlled. "I understand. How can I help you?"

"Where's Happy?" Melody asked, the Iron Man suit that was designed in a briefcase, the first thing coming to her mind.

"He's waiting outside." They were both surprised how efficient she was.

"Okay." Pepper spoke, looking back to them. "Get him. I need Happy."

"Right away." She ran off outside as Pepper and Melody turned back to the TV, taking a deep breath, feeling anger, panic and worry.

Melody ran a nervous, shaky hand through her hair as the cars took off, turning to Pepper with worried eyes. "Tell me nothing bad is going to happen." Melody commanded with her shaky voice. Pepper looked at her while shaking her head, wanting to comfort her, but also knowing that she couldn't lie to Melody.

On the race track, Ivan Vanko stepped out, dressed in a worker's uniform, alarming everyone, a car barely missing him. He then ripped his uniform open, showing what looked to be an arc reactor. "For the love of god." Melody breathed out. He then pulled out whips, electricity running through them from the arc reactor as the rest of the uniform jumpsuit burned off of him. A car drove up to him, but Ivan sliced the top part in half, causing everyone to panic even more. Melody's hand went to her mouth, not really able to believe what just happened, only hoping that the man driving was all right.

Happy walked into the room, showing them the Iron Man case, Pepper getting Melody up, who was paralyzed with shock, out the door and into the car. Happy drove, crashing into the course, the cars going the opposite way they were coming. "Oh, my god." Melody breathed out while looking to Pepper.

"Just breathe." She told her while rubbing her shoulders. "Just breathe." Melody nodded as they continued to drive and looked down at the Iron Man suit, hoping it could save the day somehow.

Tony was in his car, completely oblivious to what was going on until he made it to where Ivan was. Ivan greeted him by slicing the beginning of his car in half. The car flipped through the air, seeming to go in slow motion for Tony until it hit the ground again. He struggled to get out of the car, seeing the man with the electric whips coming his way, causing a crash of cars right behind him as he walked.

In the car, Melody had collected herself enough to reach to the front seat to pull the case to her. "Where's the key?" Pepper asked as she saw Melody searching all over for it.

"My pocket." Happy announced.

"Car!" Pepper yelled as Happy swerved out of the way just in time.

Ivan looked all around the crashed car for Tony, but Tony was right behind him, hitting him in the back of the head with metal from a crashed car. Ivan tried to hit him with his whips, but Tony dodged every hit while trying to understand what was happening. He tried to run, but one of the whips struck his leg, causing him to fall into one of the cars from the pain. He looked down at the gasoline all over the road from the crashes and then the man moving to him.

Ivan began moving the whips around, trying to scare Tony, but he waited for his plan to work. Once Ivan was about to hit him with the whips, Tony moved out of the way so he hit the gasoline instead, causing an explosion. Tony watched as he tried to put out the small fire on his arm, trying to understand who this man was.

Happy drove up, honking right before hitting Ivan, sending him into the chain link fence which Tony had to climb up on to avoid being hit. He jumped down from the fence, going to Happy as Pepper was screaming in the back and Melody watched the man they had just hit nervously, trying to find out who he was, but she had no idea. She had never seen that man in her life. "Are you okay?" Happy asked him.

"Yeah." Tony answered. "Were you heading for me or him?"

Melody looked to Tony, absolutely done with him, every thought about wishing she could be a little girl with him again out of her mind and replaced with anger. "Are you out of your mind?!" Melody yelled at him.

"There was security." He protested.

"Get in the car!" Pepper commanded.

"I was attacked!" He complained.

"Because that's supposed to make us feel better?!" Melody yelled at him.

"Get in the car!" Happy yelled at all of them, just wanting to get them all out of there safe, knowing they could have this argument later.

"I'm so done with both you." Tony yelled out as he moved to the other side of the car. "This is so embarrassing." Melody was about to lunge at him and take his eyeballs out once he got in the car until he opened his door and Ivan got up, slicing his door in half. "Hit him again!" Tony yelled at Happy as he began to reverse and crash into him again. "Case!" Tony called out. Both Melody and Pepper were fumbling with it in the back seat, trying to get it to Tony as they continued to crash into Ivan and the airbags began to deploy.

Ivan sliced the car in half, hitting Melody in the arm and she screamed as the pain ran throughout her whole body. Tony ran to the other side of the car, trying to get the case when Melody ripped it from Pepper's hands and got out of the car. "Melody!" Pepper yelled. "Get back in the car!"

With blood trickling down her arm, she put the suit on the floor while stepping on it and pulling it on, letting the suit assemble around her. Tony looked at her in shock before jumping into the car with Pepper from fear. Once the suit was done, she looked to the car, kicking it to the side as Tony looked on with worry and wonderment.

She looked to Ivan who seemed to have an amused smile on his face. This wasn't the one he wanted initially, but she was in the Stark family. She would do for now. Melody put out her hand, about to blast him when he knocked it down with his whips. She tried to hit him again, but he just knocked her other arm down. That time, she had studied him, figuring out the right time to blast him, noticing he was most vulnerable right when he was raising his whips. She blasted him a few times, actually getting the upper hand until he wrapped the whips around her arm and sides and throwing her off to the side.

"Melody!" Tony tried to get up from where he was sitting, but Pepper pulled him back down and Ivan threw Melody on the top of the car. He tried to get up again, but Pepper pulled him back down. "She can die out there!" He yelled to Pepper.

"What can you do?!" She yelled at him. Tony sat there for a moment, knowing she was right and sat back down into his seat, feeling his heart tighten as Melody doubled over from the electricity pulsating through the suit.

Melody sat up, feeling herself get angry. She grabbed one of the whips, pulling herself closer to Ivan and once he threw the other whip, she grabbed that one as well. Without any use of the whips he was practically defenseless to the suit. She head butted him, causing him to be dazed as she flipped him onto his back with the whips. He laid on the ground with blood coming out of his mouth as she leaned down and tore the arc reactor out of his chest angrily, stopping the electricity from going through the whips.

The CRS ran in once they were sure he was defenseless as Melody stepped back from him while looking at the arc reactor in her hand. Tony got out of his seat and ran up to her as Happy and Pepper looked at each other, both sharing the feeling of worry after the thought of losing Melody and knowing that this would only be the beginning.

Tony reached her right when the CRS began pulling him away. Ivan watched them with a smile, spitting blood out at them as he laughed being carried away. "You lose!" He yelled at them in a thick Russian accent. "You lose, Stark!"

Melody looked down at the arc reactor in her hands, feeling so much anger. She hated that this man for threatening her family. She hated that a threat like this to her family had even existed. She even began to hate the arc reactor in general. With all that anger, she crushed it in her hands and watched it drop to the ground. "Take this thing off of me, Jarvis."

The suit began to dissemble without Jarvis saying a word, picking up on her mood. Once it was off, it was back into the case, Melody shutting her eyes at all the pain she had felt from her arm and all the scraps and bruises now on her face and body. "Melody," Tony began in a careful voice. "Are you all right?"

She opened her eyes with a sigh and shook her head at him. She moved past him while bumping into him and climbed into the backseat to Pepper who was ready to hold her in her arms. Melody was curled into a ball as Pepper hugged her and gave her soothing words and all Tony could do was watch, wishing that he could take Pepper's position.

_**I gave you guys a little Clint scene in this chapter because I know you guys would like it and because I miss writing Clint. I hope you guys liked the Monaco scene with Melody in the suit instead of Tony. Remember to review your thoughts!**_


	4. Bad News Boyfriend

Melody tried to slam the door, but Tony caught it right before it shut. "Melody," He tried.

"Get out of my room." She told him without looking at him and moving out onto the balcony.

"I'm sorry." He spoke as he followed her.

She turned around, looking at him with wide eyes. "For what, exactly?" She moved closer to him. "For me getting my arm hurt?" He looked down at her now bandaged arm. "For driving that car when you're not supposed to?" He opened his mouth to say something when she shoved his finger into his chest. "Or for forcing me to do something about it, almost getting myself killed in the process?"

"Melody," He began in a scared voice. He knew she was pissed and he felt like he was losing her. He already didn't feel as connected to her with this new attitude, but now he felt like he was really losing her. "I didn't want any of this happen. I didn't know-"

"I know you didn't know someone was going to come after you, but you don't have to be careless!" She put her hands on her head, feeling angry tears fall down her cheeks. "God, you think you're a superhero, but how can you be a superhero when all you care about is yourself?!" He stood there, swallowing the lump in his throat. "You don't deserve to be Iron Man." She told him calmly as the tears fell down her cheeks, her eyes now puffy.

All Tony could do was study her. He knew this was her last straw and he knew that he couldn't mess up any more than he had today. In that moment, he wanted to tell Melody about all of it. About the palladium cores slowly killing him. He wanted to apologize countlessly for what he had done and he wanted to give her time to pour her soul out. To get all of her grievances out and open. He wanted to hold her as she cried about Clint and he wanted her comfort about his fear of dying. Something he hadn't expressed to anyone. But all he did was stand there and watch her as she cried. He didn't make an attempt to hold her. He didn't make the attempt to have a serious conversation with her. He didn't want to get her dragged into all of this. Any of this. "You should get some sleep." Melody studied him with a confused face as she sniffled from the tears. "That arm isn't gonna heal by itself. You need rest."

He turned around to walk out as Melody stood there, trying to understand what had just happened. He had nothing to say. Tony usually had everything to say. "That's it?" She asked as she came back into her room from the balcony.

Tony stopped, so close to the door and turned around to look at her. "I don't want to fight with you and you're right. I don't deserve to be Iron Man. But you are wrong about one thing." Melody's eyebrows furrowed, ready to hear what he had to say. "I don't just care about myself."

With that, Tony left her room as Melody sat down on her bed with a deep sigh. She knew she had been unfair, but so had he. He put her in a situation where she had no choice in the matter. It was the right thing to do. She had to protect her family when Tony couldn't. So why did she feel so bad about it?

* * *

Once Tony left Melody's room, he went to the police to find out who this man was. The authorities were giving him five minutes and all Tony was hoping for was that it was enough time. When he walked into the man's room, he was sitting on his bed, shirt off, only shorts. He had darkly tanned skin and he was covered in tattoos. Tony walked forward, he wasn't scared of the guy. Not anymore. He was chained up and all Tony cared about now was finding out why he threatened his family.

Right when he got in front of him, he began to compliment him on his technology, trying to ease him into a conversation which was difficult to do considering he hated the man and everything he did to Melody. He sat down next to him, ready to get into his reasoning. "It's a passable knock off. With a little fine tuning you could have made a nice paycheck. You could have sold it to North Korea or China. Iran. Or you could have gone straight to the black market." Ivan smiled at him, realizing that Tony had no idea who he was or why he was here. "You look like you've got friends in low places."

Ivan turned to him, annoyed. "You come from a family of thieves and butchers. And now the guilty man is trying to rewrite his own history and forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed."

Tony knew he was just trying to get under his skin and he could have given him some more remarks, but he needed answers. "Speaking of thieves, how did you get that design?"

"My father." He answered seriously. "Anton Vanko."

"Well, I've never heard of him."

Ivan's face seemed to darken with anger at his sentence. "My father is the reason you're alive."

"The reason I'm alive is because you had a shot, you took it and you missed."

"Did I?" He was tired of Tony's attitude and the way he looked down on him. "If you can make God bleed, then people will cease to believe in him. And they will wonder if the shocks will come. For the truth, all they have to do is sit here and watch as the world will consume you."

Tony had to admit that he was a little freaked out, but he sure as hell wasn't going to show it. "Where will you be watching the world consume me from? That's right, a prison cell." He stood up from his seat and began to walk back to the door. "I'll send you a bar of soap."

"Hey, Tony, before you go," Tony stopped at the door, ready to hear what he had to say. "Palladium in the chest, painful way to die." He froze, trying to think how he knew that. "And that Melody girl of yours," He turned around that time, the fact that her name was on his lips made him want to murder him right there. "Strong fighter. Very brave. Strong, brave fighters usually have a very tragic end." Tony stood there for a moment, seething in anger at his threat towards Melody. And he knew in that moment that she was not going to be let out of his sight.

* * *

Justin Hammer walked through Hammer Industries with only one thought in his mind. When he got outside of his office, he stopped at his secretary's desk and she looked up at him. "Can I help you with something?"

"Get the boys up here." He demanded before walking into his office.

The secretary picked up her phone and dialed a number as Hammer sat down at his desk. After what he saw in Monaco, he knew the only other person who hated Tony as much as he did was Ivan Vanko. In almost no time, the boys walked through his office door and Hammer smiled as he stood up. "Boys!" He yelled happily. "Do I have a job for you?"

"What do you want?" The older one asked as he looked away from his younger brother.

"I need you to get Ivan Vanko."

"Who the hell is Ivan Vanko?" The older one asked.

"Have you watched the news lately?" Hammer asked him in an annoyed voice. "He almost killed Melody Barnes in Monaco."

"Is that the guy who she had to put the suit on to face?" The younger one asked while looking at his brother.

"Yes he is." Hammer told them as they looked back to him. "And I need him here in America to help me take down Tony Stark and Melody Barnes."

The two brothers turned to each other and smiled before looking back to their uncle. "Where do we start?"

* * *

"Not being left out of your sight?!" Melody screamed at him in the workshop. "What the _hell _does that mean?!"

Tony was moving things around in the workshop as she was watching him angrily. "It means that you almost killed someone and they are very angry."

"I thought he was locked up in Monaco!" She protested.

"Point is," He spoke as he moved to stand right in front of her. "You and I are not leaving this house."

Melody's eyes widened. "No." She protested.

"You'll work from home."

"NO!" She screamed at him as Tony tried to control his anger from her temper tantrum.

"It is all for your own safety."

"You're putting me under house arrest!"

"For your safety!" He yelled in her face, trying to reason with her.

"If I pulled crap like this on you, you would _not_ even let me finish talking."

"You aren't letting _me_ finish talking!"

"Pepper!" Melody called as she began to hurry towards the stairs.

"She's busy!" Tony yelled as he ran after her. "Don't bother her!"

"Pepper!" Melody called again. Pepper was upstairs, working away on her laptop and once she heard Melody's voice, she shut her eyes while letting out a stressed breath. "Pepper!"

"Yes?" She called once Melody made it up the stairs and was moving towards Pepper who was sitting on the couch.

"Tony's trying to-" She was cut off by Tony picking her up by the waist and Melody screaming as he sat her down at the piano before turning back to Pepper.

"I'm making her stay home considering she almost killed someone who is very revengeful and could go after her."

Melody stood up from where Tony had put her and moved in front of him, getting ready to convince Pepper of her point like she was the mom and Tony and Melody were her children. "He's making me stay home because I almost killed someone who is _locked in the Monaco prison_ and heavily guarded."

"I'm trying to protect you!" He yelled while getting closer to her as Pepper rolled her eyes and put her laptop down next to her, knowing she wasn't going to get any work done until they had sorted this out. "That's my number one priority!"

"Oh, really?!" Melody screamed as Pepper stood up. "Because that didn't seem to be a big priority in Monaco!"

"Hey!" Pepper yelled as she clapped her hands loudly, getting them both to turn to her like scared dogs, afraid of what trouble they were in. "Tony, Melody is right."

"Ha!" She yelled as she pointed at him.

"Melody," Pepper sighed out as Melody turned back to look at her. "Tony is also right."

"Ha!" Tony yelled even louder at her before turning back to Pepper. "Both of us can't be right."

"No," She told them with a smile. "But you can both compromise." They both groaned while throwing their heads back. "Melody, you will check with Tony before you leave the house, understand?" Melody opened her mouth to protest. "Understand?!"

Melody let out an angry sigh as she crossed her arms. "I understand."

"And Tony," He didn't even look at Pepper. He was looking up at the ceiling with his arms crossed. "You can't just put people under house arrest. Understand?"

"I understand." He mumbled.

"Good." Pepper smiled while putting her hands on her hips. "Now hug it out."

"No." Melody and Tony both spoke at the same time.

"Hug it out!" She yelled at them.

They both sighed and turned to each other, giving each other a hug. "You're only going within fifty feet of the house." He whispered into her ear.

"I will murder you in your sleep." She growled back.

* * *

Ivan waited in his cell, his dinner showing up with a note under the cup of water they had given him. With a confused face, he hurried back to his bed, reading the note which read: enjoy the potatoes. He picked up the "potatoes" and saw that there was a clock on the bottom of them for a time bomb. Then, the same guard who gave him his food came up, unlocking his door and letting in someone with the same prison number as him and who could pass as Ivan.

Ivan stood up, knocking the man out and moving to the bars in his cell where a key had been placed for him. He put the time bomb on the wall, pressing the button to get it started and let himself out of his cell. He didn't know who had set this up for him, but he wasn't going to argue when it came to getting out of prison. He walked up to a guard who tried to get him to come back to his cell, but Ivan finished him off quickly, continuing to walk through as casually as he could.

Shortly after that, the bomb went off, sending all the workers into a frenzy. Ivan tried to run away, but two guards grabbed him, handcuffed him, put a bag over his head and took him away from the prison. Ivan remained confused as they shoved him into a car and drove him away from the prison.

When they opened the door and took the bag off of his head, he was in an all-white room with a plane off to the side and Justin Hammer sitting at a table with dinner and wine glasses and the boys standing behind him. "Hey!" Hammer yelled happily. "There he is!" Ivan looked around as he walked through the room, trying to understand where he exactly was as Hammer stood up from where he sat. "It is my absolute pleasure. Welcome!" He shook his head once he looked down at Ivan's hands. "Goodness gracious, can we get the handcuffs off my friend, here?"

The men who had brought Ivan in took the handcuffs off of him as Justin Hammer apologized for his discomfort and sat him down in the chair across from him. The boys stared him down. The younger one was measuring him up, trying to see if he could take him if it escalated to a fight and the older one was trying to measure how smart he was by his looks, trying to see if he could outsmart him if anything happened. "Anything you want here, we got it." Hammer spoke as a man brought out a dish for Ivan to eat. "I like my dessert first." He shrugged. "What can I say? I have a sweet tooth, and apparently so do you for Tony Stark and Melody Barnes."

Ivan looked around, confused, just wanting to know what these people wanted from him. "What I saw from you on that track, how you stepped up to him in front of God and everybody that was…wow. You spoke to me is what you did." A man came up to fill his glass, the younger one, watching Ivan's every movement. "I know that you knew that I would be listening. This is why I couldn't bear to have you shipped off to God knows where because it's such a waste of talent."

"But if I might make a suggestion, you don't just try and kill the two. If I may, I think you should go after their legacy. That's what you kill." Ivan watched him, unimpressed. He was trying to make him do something he had no desire of doing. "You and me are a lot alike in a lot of ways. The only difference between you and I is that I have resources. I think, if I may, you need my resources. Someone behind you. A benefactor. I'd like to be that guy."

Ivan laughed and began to speak something in Russian, causing Justin to just shake his head. "Okay." He spoke in a confused voice. "Do you speak English? Because I can get a translator. Have you been understanding anything I've been saying?"

Ivan laughed, knowing that he would have Justin Hammer fooled if he pretended to do what he wanted. "Very good man."

Justin laughed happily. "Very good man." He repeated.

They clinked their glasses in celebration when Ivan grabbed his arm. "Hey, I want my bird."

"A bird?" Justin asked in a confused voice.

"I want my bird."

"I can get you a bird." Justin said with a shrug. "I can get you ten birds."

"I want _my_ bird." He argued.

"Well, okay. Nothing's impossible. Is this a bird back in Russia?" Ivan just stared at him so he turned to the older nephew. "Find this bird." He turned back to Ivan and smiled. "These are my nephews by the way. Kyle and Joey. If you need anything that requires physical strength," He turned to the younger one. "Go for Joey." He then turned to the older one. "And if you need anything that requires knowledge on tech, go to Kyle."

* * *

Since Melody was on, what she called, Tony arrest, he gave her the permission to have Kyle over at the house. They were currently lounging on the couch as Pepper and Natalie were sitting in the living room, doing business when Rhodey walked into the house. He looked around, saw Melody with Kyle and rolled his eyes. He hated the new boyfriend too. "I'll talk to you later." He told Melody, who just threw her head back, dreading the talk. "Where is he?" He asked while looking back to Pepper.

Natalie turned to him quickly, still on the phone. "He doesn't want to be disturbed."

Pepper turned to him, annoyed that Natalie didn't know how things worked around here. "He's downstairs." Rhodey and Melody looked to the news on the TV, watching the footage from Monaco, Melody shutting her eyes, reliving all of it as Kyle kissed her neck.

Rhodey went down the stairs and into the workshop to see Tony sitting in the car that he and Melody had finished a few months ago, researching the man who had attacked them in Monaco. Rhodey was here for business though. "Tony, you've got to get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now." All Tony could do in his current condition was sit there as Rhodey got closer to him. He didn't want him to find out, but it seemed like this was going to be the only option. "Listen, I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day trying to talk them out of rolling tanks, knocking down the front door and taking these. They're gonna take your suits, Tony. They're sick of the game. You said nobody would possess this technology for twenty years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it _yesterday_. It's not theoretical anymore." Right when he reached Tony, he grabbed his shoulder, causing him to lean towards him. "Are you listening to me?"

That was when he noticed how bad Tony looked. When he touched his shoulder, it was like he was a rag doll. His face was pale and sweaty, causing Rhodey to lean into him, trying to figure out what was going on with him. "Are you okay?"

Tony got out of the car and once he got on his feet, he fell to the ground. Rhodey ran to him, now knowing something was seriously wrong with him. He helped him stand up and put his arm around him, guiding him to his desk. "See that box?" He asked Rhodey as he sat him down at his chair. Rhodey nodded. "It's filled with palladium."

Rhodey hurried to the box and took out one of the palladium cores. When he turned to Tony, the arc reactor was out of his body and it was letting off smoke, causing Rhodey to begin to really worry. "Is that supposed to be smoking?"

Tony looked at him, knowing that he now had to tell him as he handed him the arc reactor. "If you must know, it's neutron damage. It's from the reactor wall."

Rhodey pulled out the burnt palladium core out of the arc reactor, watching the smoke from it fill the air. "You had this in your body?" Tony didn't say anything as Rhodey put the new palladium core in, but Rhodey saw the markings on his neck. "How about the high tech crossword puzzle on your neck?"

Tony turned to him and took the arc reactor. "Road rash." Rhodey couldn't take his eyes off of Tony as he put the arc reactor in and slowly got more comfortable. When Tony turned to him, he shrugged like nothing happened. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you." Tony turned away from him, hating that he had now dragged Rhodey into this. "Does Melody even know?" Tony closed his eyes and shook his head. Rhodey let out a sigh and crouched on the ground right next to him. "You want to do this whole lone gunslinger act and it's unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone."

Tony took a deep breath and turned back to Rhodey. "I wish I could believe that. I really do, but, trust me, contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing."

Rhodey sighed and stood up from where he was crouching. "I'm gonna talk to Melody about her boyfriend."

"Good." Tony spoke as he turned to face him. "Maybe she'll listen to you. She doesn't listen to me lately." Tony looked down sadly. If he was going to die, he didn't want to have the relationship he had with Melody now. He wanted them to be as close as they were when she was little and he was the only guy she had.

Rhodey pat Tony on the back before going up the stairs, Pepper and Natalie still crazy busy on the phone. He moved right to Melody while putting his hand out to help her up from the couch. "Young lady," She sighed and rolled her eyes as she got out of Kyle's grip on her, grabbed Rhodey's hand and moved towards the front door with him. "We need to have a talk."

Melody rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Are you going to give me a lecture about what I'm doing with my life like everyone else?"

"No." He told her, causing Melody to blink a couple of times at that. At first, he was, but then he saw Tony and decided that wasn't what she needed. "I'm trying to tell you that you need to be nice to Tony. You need to spend more time with him and stop hanging around your boyfriend who is bad news."

Melody sensed that there was a lot more to this talk than he was saying. "Why are you telling me this?"

Rhodey sighed and pulled her in for a hug which she gave back. "Because I love you and after everything that happened in Monaco, you should know that you don't know how much time you have."

Melody nodded as her hug on Rhodey tightened. "I love you, Rhodey."

He smiled as he rubbed her back. "I love you, Melly Kelly." She let out a laugh as they stayed there for a few moments in that hug that they both really needed.

_**(gasp) Melody's personal trainer and boyfriend and working with Hammer! Review your thoughts!**_


	5. Tony Stark's Birthday Bash

Melody adjusted her earrings and straightened out her body hugging V-neck black dress in front of the mirror before Tony's party. With a sigh, she pulled off the bandage on her arm, knowing her arm wasn't all the way healed, but she didn't want it on at the party. "Jarvis," She called out as she put on some red lipstick.

"Yes, Miss. Barnes?"

"How's the global search coming for Emily?"

"Emily Barnes has not yet-" Jarvis's voice began to diminish until it was nothing, causing Melody to look around with a confused face on, not understanding what exactly what was happening.

"Jarvis?"

Melody's phone then went off. Right when she picked it up, there was a message from an unknown number. The message read: _Do you think you're safe_? Melody shook her head and took out her hacking device, plugging it into her phone, ready to find out who exactly this was.

Then, her computer turned on. A message was open on the computer reading: _Do you think Tony is safe?_ Melody looked back down at her phone, her breath quickening from fear. Her device then began malfunctioning and then busted, resulting in a loud scream from her.

Her TV then came on with a message reading: _We can get you from anywhere. Anytime. And there's nothing you can do to stop it._ The lamp behind her exploded, causing her to scream and jump.

Then her door burst open and Tony hurried inside. "Mel!" He went right to her, studying her face, but Melody continued to look around the room. All the messages were now gone, even on her phone. "Are you alright?" Tony asked her seriously.

She looked back to him and nodded, but Tony noticed that she looked like a complete ghost. "My bulb just shattered." She lied quickly while looking back to the lamp.

Tony quickly looked at the lamp, but then looked right back at her. He felt like there was something else she wasn't telling him, but he decided to trust her. "I'll get a new one after the party." Melody nodded and gave him a forced smile. Tony smiled back while stroking her cheek with the back on his hand. "You scared me, kid."

"Sorry." Tony shook his head and planted a kiss on her head before walking out of her room. Melody looked around the room once her phone vibrated again. _You've been warned –the boys_. Melody clenched her phone tightly and let out a deep breath. "Jarvis, you okay, bud?"

"I'm fine, Miss. Barnes." Melody let out a relieved breath, afraid that whoever had hacked in had destroyed Jarvis. "The hacker isn't strong enough to get rid of me."

Melody was fuming. "The boys" tried to get rid of Jarvis and that was not something she was going to just blow over. "Jarvis," She called. "Do everything you can to find out who 'the boys' are."

"My pleasure, Miss. Barnes."

* * *

Tony stared at the marks on his chest as he buttoned up the shirt he was wearing for the big birthday party. He knew that this was just going to get worse and he knew this was mostly likely going to be his last birthday. "Do you know which watch you would like to wear tonight, Mr. Stark?"

He jumped at Natalie's voice and covered his body, buttoning up the shirt faster, not wanting to alarm her. "I'll give 'em a look." He spoke as she began to make him a drink. He turned to look at her once his shirt was fully buttoned up. "I should cancel the party, huh?"

Natalie turned to him with a martini. "Probably."

"Yeah," He spoke as she handed the drink to him. "It's-"

"Ill timed?" She offered.

"Right. Sends the wrong message."

She nodded in agreement. "Inappropriate." He took a small sip of the martini and looked back to Natalie, that same attraction from when he first met her coming back. "Is that dirty enough for you?" She asked in her normally seductive voice.

Tony stood there for a moment, but knew there would always be one woman who was more attractive to him than every other girl in the world. Pepper. "Gold face, brown band." He told Natalie while nodding towards the watches on his dresser. She walked over with the box full of watches, handing them to him as he sat down in a chair.

She sat down on the arm of the chair while looking down at him, putting a little bit of makeup under his eyes, trying to cover up the bags. "I gotta say, it's hard to get a read on you." She continued to put on his makeup, but she just continued to intrigue Tony even more. "Where are you from?"

"Legal."

Tony sighed, knowing he was getting nothing personal out of her. "Can I ask you a question, hypothetically?" She stopped what she was doing and looked at his face. "If this was your last birthday party ever, how would you celebrate it?"

She looked up with a smile, trying to think about the question. "I'd do whatever I wanted to do with whoever I wanted to do it with." She got up from where she was sitting and walked out the door as Tony sat back, mulling that piece of advice over. He picked up his martini and drank the rest of it, deciding he was going to get roaring drunk.

* * *

Melody stood at the back of the party while shaking her head as Tony began to work the turn tables. Kyle was trying to make out with her, but she kept pushing him back, trying to keep her eyes on Tony as he danced around the stage. Kyle then grabbed her ass, causing her to push him back. "Kyle, stop!"

"Come on, babe." He tried to move closer to her, pushing her all the way against the wall. "Why don't we go upstairs?"

"Are you even paying attention to what is going on right now?!"

He shrugged while looking back to Tony. "Mom's having a good time for once in his miserable life. Why should that bother us?"

Melody pushed him back again and Kyle looked pissed. "I think you need to go."

"I think," He began as he grabbed her by the ass and pulled her forward as she tried to push him back as hard as she could. "That you need to stand here and take it." He began to lift her dress up while kissing her as Melody screamed and reached he reached her lacy black panties when Melody bit down on his lip as hard as he could. He began to scream as he backed off of her. Blood was all over their mouths and Kyle was looking at her with crazy eyes. "You crazy bitch!" He tried to go for her again, but she grabbed his wrist, snapped it and flipped him over on the ground as people around them backed away.

"And you're an ass hole." A few people cheered as she walked away from him lying on the ground. She had to find Pepper. She had to stop Tony.

When she reached Pepper, she was by the stairs, watching Tony with a worried face. "Nice job over there." She commented while looking to Kyle who was still on the ground. "If he would have touched you for a second more, I would have gone over there and killed him."

Melody shook her head, only wanting to focus on Tony. "We can't worry about that right now." She turned to Pepper. "We have to stop him."

She opened her mouth to say something when they heard, "Hey, Pepper. Melody."

Pepper put a hand on her head, feeling beyond stressed out and angry. "I'm gonna go get some air."

Melody gave him a pleading look so he grabbed Pepper by the arm as she tried to leave while studying her face. "What's wrong?

Pepper took a deep breath and led Rhodey into the room where Tony was going insane. "I don't know what to do."

"You've got to be kidding me." Rhodey spoke as Tony fell off the stage in his drunken mess. "That's it." Rhodey began to turn around, but Melody grabbed his arm.

"No." She pleaded.

"This is ridiculous!" He yelled at her with his jaw dropped. "I just stuck my neck out for this guy!"

"I know." Melody said while looking to Pepper who was obviously siding with Rhodey. "I get it and I will handle it." Pepper gave her a look like she wasn't too sure. "Just let me handle it." Pepper took a deep breath. She knew it wasn't going to work, but something in Melody's eyes shined so bright. It reminded her of the old Melody.

"Handle it!" Rhodey told her forcefully as Pepper nodded. "Or I'm gonna have to."

Melody began to move to the stage as Tony got the microphone. "You know, the question I get asked most often is, Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?" He began to make a face with his eyes closed and then nodded. "Just like that."

Tony doubled over with laughter as Melody got on the stage, faking a laugh and putting a hand on Tony's shoulder as she took the microphone from him. "Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?"

Everyone began to cheer in agreement when Tony leaned toward the microphone in her hands. "I love you."

Everyone cheered again as Melody shook her head. "Unbelievable!" She laughed out her frustration with Tony, trying not to show it with the crowd. "Thank you so much, Tony. We all thank you so much for such a wonderful night and we're all gonna say goodnight now and thank you all for coming."

Everyone booed and Tony began to protest so Melody put the microphone behind her back while giving him an annoyed look. "We haven't had the cake. We haven't blown out the candles."

"You're out of control, okay?" She told him in an angry whisper.

"I'm not out of control."

"Trust me."

"You're out of control." Melody rolled her eyes and Tony began to lean toward her. "Kiss me on the cheek."

"No."

"I love you. You know you want to."

"I love you too, but, Tony, you just peed in your suit."

"I know," He breathed out. "It has a filtration system."

"It's disgusting."

"You can drink that water!"

"Just send everybody home, okay?" Melody told him forcefully, done with this child like arguing.

"If you say so."

"Thank you." For that, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll take that," She took the bottle from him as Tony sighed. "You take that." She gave him the microphone even though she knew it was probably not the best thing to do in his state. She was going to trust him.

She stepped back as Tony stepped off the stage and into the crowd. "Melody Barnes. The best niece in the entire world. She's gorgeous, isn't she?" The crowd began to cheer so she gave them a small smile before turning back to Tony. "She's right. The party's over. Though, the party was over for me about an hour and a half ago."

Melody shut her eyes while letting out a sigh. "Don't."

"The after party starts in fifteen minutes! And if anybody," He turned in her direction while still looking at the crowd. "Mel," She shut her eyes and let out a sigh, she had actually thought she had gotten to him. "Doesn't like it, then there's the door." He aimed his hand at the door and it shot off, taking off the glass close to the stairs.

The crowd began to cheer and Melody looked to Rhodey and Pepper with a fearful face. Tony began to cheer more when a blonde girl threw a bottle in the air. Tony hit it, sending glass flying everywhere, hitting Melody's arm on her burn. She let out a small scream as her hand went to her arm. Pepper hurried to her and pulled the piece of glass out of her arm as another girl threw another bottle in the air.

Pepper pulled Melody away from the blast zone and Rhodey was nowhere to be seen. Melody looked around for him, also wondering where Kyle had gone. "Come on," Pepper told her as she helped her up the stairs. "We have to get you out of here."

Rhodey walked into the room wearing one of the Iron Man suits, stopping Melody and Pepper, their mouths dropped. "I'm only gonna say this once!" The entire room got quiet. "Get out!"

Everyone began to file out, Melody and Pepper following, looking all over, not really sure what exactly to do. "Natalie!" Pepper called, causing Melody to look over at where Pepper was going.

"Miss. Potts." Natalie called as she hurried to her.

"Oh, don't you Miss. Potts me." She told her angrily as Melody looked back and forth at the two. "I'm on to you. You know what, ever since you got here-"

They were cut off by Tony and Rhodey falling through the ceiling. The three of them jumped back, Natalie running towards the back door and Happy running in to get Pepper and Melody. "You've got to get out of here." He told Pepper, but Melody began running after Natalie. "Melody!"

Melody was tired of this weird feeling about Natalie. She was going to find out just who this girl was. Right as they made it out of the back of the house, Natalie was joined by a man whose back was turned to them. "Natalie," She turned around with wide eyes and looked to the man next to her nervously. "Just what the hell-"

She was cut off when the man turned around, her mouth dropping. He had no idea how to react and she sure as hell didn't know what to do. She didn't even know Clint Barton was in Malibu. "Hey, Mel." He told her awkwardly as she just breathed heavily, not being able to process what was happening.

Melody turned to Natalie, about to ask her what was going on when she thought about Clint again and how he was actually here. She looked to him and then Natalie again, sure that what she wanted was to find out what was happening. "Natalie," She began in a very confused voice.

"Actually," She jumped at the man's voice which was coming from behind her. "Her real name is Natasha Romanoff."

Melody rolled her eyes once she saw him in his stupid eye patch. "Oh god, not you again."

"You visited her?" Clint asked Fury.

"Is it your position to monitor who visits me?" Melody asked him angrily.

He shrugged with a small smile. "It was a few months ago."

Melody was about to say something when there was a loud crash from the house, causing them all to jump and Fury put a hand on Melody's shoulder. "Why don't we get to a safer place where we can all talk?" Fury eased her into the backseat of a town car and as she got in, Clint saw that she was still wearing her Captain America bracelet which made him smile.

* * *

Melody laid her head down on the table of the 24 hour fast food restaurant, trying to process everything they had just told her. "Natalie…I mean Natasha is working for SHIELD." She spoke in a muffled voice, her head still down. She popped her head back up and leaned on her elbow while looking straight at Natasha. "And she's Tony's shadow agent which is what Clint was to me?" They all nodded and Melody sighed while adjusting her position. "Why? Why are you all spying on us?"

They all looked at each other uncomfortably and then back to Melody. "What?" She asked in an annoyed voice. She was absolutely done with secrets and she wanted to know all of the truth right now.

They all looked behind her and she followed the gaze to see a woman she hadn't seen in a very long time looking down at her with a smile. She had the same golden locks and the same bright blue eyes. "Hi, baby." She spoke in her English accent.

Melody felt like she was going to choke on her own shock if that was even possible. "Mom?"

_**Ah! Cliffhanger! Sorry, guys, I just love cliffhangers. Please review!**_


	6. Mama Who Bore Me

_**Sorry it's been a while since I updated (especially with that cliffhanger) I just haven't had much time to write lately, but I finally have this chapter up! Now that we're going to be seeing more of Emily, I should tell you that she's portrayed by Nicole Kidman. I know Emily's accent is English and Nicole is Australian, but she's all I picture when I think of Emily. Hope you enjoy!**_

All Melody could do was stare up at Emily. It all seemed unreal. She had no idea what to say. Seventeen years of unspoken words were dancing on her lips, tingling all over and all Melody wanted to do was get out of there. She stood up and ran to the door, everyone watching her, not being able to do a thing as she was out of the door in seconds. Clint just sighing while throwing his head back. "I knew she was gonna run."

He got up from his seat and calmly walked outside to see Melody trying to break into the town car. He shook his head as he studied her. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

Clint saw that she was really trying to break in. "You do know that this is a government vehicle from a secret division, right?" She looked to him and shrugged, not understanding his point. "You think you can just break in with a lock pick?"

She turned to him annoyed, throwing her lock pick to the ground. "Stop destroying my thunder." With an angry sigh, she sat down on the ground so Clint walked over to join her. "I don't want to talk to her."

He shook his head and turned to her. "Then don't talk to her." She looked to him, actually getting a good look at his eyes which she felt like she hadn't seen in ages. "Talk to me."

She laughed a little and turned away from him. "I don't really want to talk to you either."

He sighed, feeling that sentence hurt him. There was a time when all Melody wanted to do was talk to him. "Who do you want to talk to?"

She thought for a moment and nodded. "Tony."

"Do you know about the palladium?" She looked to him with a confused face and that's when Clint knew that she didn't know. "Shit." He cursed under his breath.

"What about palladium?"

"It's nothing." He said while standing up quickly.

"No." She told him while standing up and getting in front of him so he wouldn't try to walk away. "It's definitely something and you need to tell me." He just looked at her. He felt like his hands were tied. That was something he had to tell Melody, but he knew Fury wouldn't like it. "Clint," She pleaded. "Talk to me."

That was his breaking point. The way she looked at him was the one thing that could break him. "The palladium in the arc reactor in Tony's chest is-"

"Leaking into his blood stream and poisoning him." Melody finished with her eyes wide and her voice dazed. Clint nodded while looking down. Melody shook her head, her eyes growing angry. She leaned forward and punched him in the arm. Clint automatically gasped, realizing how strong she had gotten. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that in the first place?!"

"Emily!" He spoke as he continued to rub his arm.

Melody was completely done with SHIELD and her mother. She charged into the restaurant and slammed her hands down on the table they were sitting at. "When were any of you ass hats going to tell me that my uncle is dying?!"

Emily looked to Melody, putting her hand on hers. "Melody, honey, calm down."

Melody ripped her hand away from Emily's, hating that she thought she had the right to touch her. "I will not calm down!" A few workers began to look over, but Melody didn't care one bit. "How dare you even tell me to calm down?! He was more a parent to me than you ever were!"

"I think we should take this conversation someplace else." Natasha told Fury.

Melody threw her hands in the air. "Fine. I think all of you owe me at least one drink."

* * *

Clint, Natasha and Fury were waiting outside in the car as Melody and Emily sat at the bar. The two didn't say anything as the bartender gave them their drinks. Melody picked up her glass of bourbon and began to sip on it. Emily smiled down at the drink. "That's your dad's favorite."

"I've been told." She answered casually.

Emily had no idea what to say. She had never been more nervous in her life. "I heard about Obadiah." Melody turned to her with an annoyed face. As if she wasn't okay with this family meeting, but now she had to bring up a soft spot. "Are you all okay after everything that happened?"

"Yeah." Melody spat out.

"Melody, I'm just trying to-"

"Just trying to what?!" Melody yelled at her. "You sold me off as an experiment to SHIELD and then you abandoned me." She shook her head and picked up her drink, taking a sip. "I want no relationship with you."

Emily sighed while looking down at her hands. "Did you get the letter from your father?"

"Yeah." She said in a raised voice while turning back to her. "I'm not too happy with him right now either."

"Melody, you were never just an experiment to us." She told her in a comforting voice.

"It doesn't matter." She told her in an exasperated voice, feeling tears beginning to collect in her eyes. "I spent my whole life just dreaming about you and wishing that you would come back. I wished that we would have this great slow motion running into each other's arms thing that you always see in the movies and that you would have an amazing reason for leaving." Melody shook her head as she wiped a tear off her face. "But you sold me. Make all the excuses for it you want, but you _sold _me."

"I know," Emily said while moving closer to her. "There is nothing I can do to make that better and I can't excuse that ever, but, Melody, we love you so much. And you have to know that we didn't have you because of that. We had you and then Fury approached us about the option." Melody turned to her with her eyes wide. "That still doesn't make it sound good, but I want to apologize for it and I want to get to know my daughter."

Melody shook her head while taking a deep breath, knowing that this was going to be one of hardest things she had to say. "I don't want any of that." She turned to Emily and bit her lip to keep her from crying. "And once Tony is fixed, I never want to see you again, understand?" Emily also had to bite on her lip to keep from crying, both of the blonde haired, blue eyed girls holding back their emotions from the one person they wanted to tell the most.

* * *

When they finally found Tony, he was in the doughnut on top of Randy's Donuts. "Oh, my god." Melody spoke as they pulled up in the separate car with Clint. "This is really happening."

They watched as Fury got out of the car and walked to where Tony would be able to see him as Natasha and Emily went inside. "So," Clint began as he noticed Melody's eyes had went from Tony to Emily. "You haven't talked about it."

Melody turned to him while shaking her head. "Aw, but Clint, I was just starting to enjoy our time together. You really want to fuck it up now?"

"_What_ is with you?" Clint asked as he turned all the way in her direction to look at her.

She shrugged while giving him one of her bitch looks. "What?"

"No offense," Clint began while leaning into her. "But you're being a real bitch." She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Tony and Fury as Clint studied her worriedly, afraid that this is what she had become in a result from the secrets he and SHIELD kept from her.

Fury put his hands on his hips as he stared up at Tony who was casually eating his doughnuts like this was a regular occurrence. "Sir," Tony looked down at him, wanted to scream that this guy had come back. "I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut." He had to move down his sunglasses to make sure it was really him.

After that, Tony got down from the doughnut and joined Fury inside the building. Melody and Clint then got out of the car, but Melody quickly realized she had been in these huge heels all night, causing her to begin to stumble on the parking lot. "You okay?" Clint asked her as he turned around, once he heard her struggling.

"Fine." She told him as she straightened herself out and began to walk very wobbly.

"Do you need help?" Clint asked her as she walked past him.

"Nope." He sighed and rolled his eyes before following her. Clint loved her, but she could be beyond difficult when it came to doing things by herself.

Fury and Tony were sitting down at a table, Tony's sunglasses still on, feeling the hangover from last night and leaning close to the window, feeling tired from not sleeping at all. "I told you," He sighed out. "Mel and I don't want to join your super-secret boy band." He took his coffee and began to sip it, thinking about how he had really pissed Melody off. "That is if she's talking to me."

Fury began to laugh, knowing he had Melody halfway through the door. "No. See, I remember you two doing everything yourselves. How's that working out for you?"

Tony sighed and began to stutter, wondering if he should explain last night and his now relationship with Melody when he decided he didn't want to. "I'm sorry, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot, do I look at the patch or the eye?" Fury laughed, but obviously didn't think much of his joke. "Honestly, I'm a bit hungover." Fury chuckled a bit at the fact that Tony wasn't aware how completely obvious that was. "I'm not sure if you're real or…"

Fury leaned forward, his face getting serious. "I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck." Tony mumbled before looking around the restaurant, noticing no one was around. He didn't know that while he and Fury were outside, Emily arranged for everyone to get out. "Where's the staff around here?"

Fury grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from looking around, noticing the "high tech crossword puzzle". "That's not looking too good."

Natasha walked forward in her SHIELD uniform, followed by Emily in hers. "I secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer." Emily spoke, causing Tony to spit out his coffee at his sister-in-law and assistant wearing the identical uniform and his sister-in-law actually…here.

Tony sat there for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. "You're…fired." He directed at Natasha.

Emily shook her head and moved in to sit next to Tony. "That's not up to you." Natasha told him as she sat next to Fury.

"Tony," Emily began with a smile while looking to Natasha. "I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

Natasha turned to him with a smile. "I'm a SHIELD shadow. Once we knew you were ill, I was sent in by Director Fury and Supervisor Barnes."

"Supervisor," Tony commented while turning to Emily. "So, that's where you've been for the past seventeen years? At SHIELD?"

Emily shrugged while turning to him. "That's where I've always been."

"I suggest you apologize." He spoke as he looked back and forth from Emily to Natasha.

"You've been very busy." Fury told Tony, all of them looking back to him. "You made your girl your CEO, you're dealing with the attitude change on your niece, you're giving away all your stuff, you let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn't know any better-"

"You don't know any better." Tony cut in while shaking his head. "I didn't give it to him. He took it."

"Whoa." Fury spoke as he put his hands up, annoying Tony. "He took it?! You're Iron Man and he just took it?!" Tony looked outside while taking a deep breath. "The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit?" He turned to look at Natasha and shrugged. "Is that possible?"

She looked at him with a slight smile. "Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to keep from unauthorized usage."

Tony stared at her for a minute before looking back to Fury and Emily, knowing they were the real ones in charge. "What do you want from me?"

"What do we want from you?" Fury repeated as Natasha and Emily got up from their seats.

Natasha and Emily walked to the kitchen where Melody was making the lithium dioxide to temporarily counteract the symptoms of the palladium poison while Clint was watching her. "Are you done yet?" Natasha asked as Melody mixed it around in a test tube they had given her in a kit along with the synthesized elements.

"It's not that easy to counteract palladium poisoning." Melody sang out as she pulled out a syringe and poured the liquid in that to give it to Tony.

"I have bigger problems than you to deal with it!" Fury yelled at Tony as Melody sat in the booth right next to Tony and Clint sat down right next to Fury.

"Mel," Tony began in a surprised voice that she was here.

"Yeah, yeah." She spoke as she stuck the needle in his neck and pushing down the plunge to send the liquid into his bloodstream.

"What are you gonna do?!" He yelled at her as she began to study his neck, the marks slowly beginning to fade away as Natasha and Emily watched from their standing position. "Why are you working with them?! Are you gonna harvest my kidney and sell it?!"

"A simple thank you would suffice." She told him as she pushed his neck back forward. "Lithium dioxide." She told him with a shrug. "It's counteracting your symptoms for now. You're welcome."

Tony shook his head, trying to wrap his brain around everything. "What are you doing here? How do you even know about this?"

"SHIELD filled me in." She slapped him on the back of the head, Tony putting his hand on his head while whining from the pain. "That's for not telling me that you're dying!"

He began to stutter, trying to come up with an excuse when he stopped, shaking his head. "I have no excuse for that."

Melody turned to Emily with a smirk. "At least _someone_ knows there's no excuse when they've done something completely morally wrong."

Emily opened her mouth to protest when Clint spoke to get everyone back on the important topic. "It's not going to be an easy fix." They all turned to him, Tony seeming slightly happy at seeing him again.

"Trust me, I know. I'm good at this stuff." Tony told him. "And it's nice to see the one person from SHIELD who I don't want to kill every time I see them." Clint nodded with a smile. "I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I have tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

Melody opened her mouth about to get upset that he had never included her when Fury spoke. "And I'm here to tell you that you haven't tried them all."

* * *

Kyle got into Hammer Industries right when Justin was pouting about how Ivan was making a drone instead of a suit like the Iron Man suit. Once he saw Kyle, he looked him over, saw his swollen lip from the stitches that had to be put in and a cast around his wrist. "You look like hell."

"Yeah," Kyle spoke as he followed him upstairs into his office. "Melody Barnes." He spoke right when they walked in and Joey looked him over with wide eyes.

"Melody did this to you?" Kyle nodded and Joey began to chuckle. "A girl did that to you?"

Kyle pushed him down into a chair nearby before looking back to Justin. "Point is that I can't keep track of Melody anymore. She kind of dumped me."

Justin turned back to him, obviously fuming over what Kyle had just told him. "How stupid are you?!" Joey automatically stopped laughed and Kyle watched him, suddenly getting scared. "I asked for one simple task by you and you couldn't even do that."

Kyle shrugged and looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with his uncle. "So, what do we do now?"

Justin sighed as he began to run his hands through his hair. He was starting to feel everything unravel. First Ivan and now his eye on Melody was diminishing. Everything was changing and he had to adapt. "We're gonna have to move our plan for Melody up."

Joey stood up from his seat nervously, not sure if he was ready for the plan to happen this quickly. "How soon?"

Justin looked to the two of them and sighed, not liking the thought of the idea either. "As soon as possible."

**_What do they have planned for Melody?! Please review!_**


	7. Newer Melody

Melody sighed while looking down at the arc reactor glowing through Tony's chest. "You're sure you tried everything?"

Tony nodded as he looked up at her. They were both sitting on Tony's bed with chips and ice cream spread out around them. Surprisingly, Tony and Melody's rooms were a few of the only rooms that weren't destroyed from the fight between Tony and Rhodey. "But apparently Fury knows something we don't."

Melody chuckled a little while getting a spoonful of ice cream. "Yeah, SHIELD knows a lot of things that we don't."

Tony turned to her while letting out a sad sigh. "You ready to tell me everything that's been happening to you?"

Melody could already feel the tears poking at her eyes by just thinking about the topic. "Um, you know how Clint was sent in to spy on me?" Tony nodded. "Well, it wasn't just because of the Avengers Initiative." Tony studied her worriedly as he saw the first tear fall down her face. "It's because my mom is SHIELD's top agent and my dad was SHIELD's top scientist and they both used me as an experiment to breed agents."

Tony's mouth dropped once she was finished talking. He couldn't believe that his own brother would agree to something like that. He couldn't even believe that Emily would agree to something like that. It just didn't seem like them. It didn't seem like the people he knew. "And ever since I found that out, I've just been so angry about _everything_ and I feel like I can't trust _anyone_ anymore." Melody felt all the tears she had been holding back for six months come pouring out of her like a faucet and she just couldn't stop crying. "And I feel like I don't serve a purpose to anyone or anything. I feel like I don't even exist anymore and it's ripping apart everything I had ever established about myself."

Tony couldn't bear to see her cry anymore. He pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried out all she could. All the pain she was in made tears begin to collect in his eyes. He hated that she had let all of these emotions bubble up inside her and that she felt like she couldn't tell him of all people. "Melody, you are _so_ important." He shut his eyes as his hug on her tightened and he began to pet her hair. "And I need you to know that you serve the most important purpose to me." He let out a shaky breath as he opened his eyes and kissed her head. "And I know what it's like to question who you are and who you want to be, so I want you to know that you always have me to talk to for anything."

She nodded and let out a little chuckle. "I don't know why I didn't think about going to you before." He joined in her chuckles. "I think I was just scared."

He shook his head while planting small kisses in the strands of her hair. "Never be scared to tell me anything."

"Honestly," Melody spoke as she sat up from Tony's hug and began to wipe her tears. "I hate who I've become."

"Can I be honest?" Tony asked. She squinted her eyes, trying to figure him out while shaking her head. "I kind of hated her too." Melody began to laugh as Tony joined her in it, wiping the tears from his eyes. "She was kind of a bitch."

Melody nodded. "She was."

"Does this mean the old Melody is back?" He asked hopefully.

She began to think of what to do. "Kind of." He turned his head to the side and she let out a deep breath. "I want to be a mix between the old Melody and the new Melody. I want to be the basis of the old Melody, but I want the independence of the new Melody. I don't want to be the innocent old Melody who people could walk all over, but I want the integrity of the old Melody. I want to be a _newer_ Melody."

Tony smiled while nodding in agreement. "I think that's the best idea you've had lately."

* * *

Melody opened the door to her room and turned on the light to see Clint lying in her bed. She jumped at first when she saw him, but then quickly became annoyed with him being there. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

He shrugged and put a joint to his lips while pulling out a lighter. "I'm doing my job."

"Ex job." She corrected quickly. "Is that _my_ weed?"

He smiled as he pulled it away from his face. "Yeah."

She climbed on top of the bed and took it from him, taking a huge hit as he stared at her. She shrugged once she was done. "It's my weed."

"Why do you even have weed?"

She turned to him with an annoyed glance. "I'm not five."

He studied her worriedly as she pulled it to her lips, taking another long hit. This was not the Melody he remembered. And this was not the Melody he fell in love with. "What exactly have you been up to?"

"Why don't you ask the one question you've been wanting to ask since you saw me?" Melody asked as she handed him the joint. He began to take a hit as she rolled her eyes at his silence. "You want to know how many guys I've slept with in the past six months."

He shook his head as he pulled the joint away from his lips. "I didn't ask that." He told her in a husky voice from the smoke.

She took the joint from him and smiled. "The answer is," She took a hit from it and moved towards him, blowing the smoke into his mouth, causing him to cough. "I can't even remember."

That was when the pot really started kicking in. She lost it and began laughing on his lap as his head went back and he howled with laughter. "Guess how many woman I've been with since we've broke up?" He asked, holding back a laugh as she picked her head back up. "None."

They continued to laugh and smoke until the joint was all gone. "You know what I want?" Melody spoke as she threw what was left of it in the trash. "Food."

"Food sounds amazing right now." Clint spoke as he stood up, bouncing a little bit with excitement.

Melody looked over at the clock and then back to Clint. "It's one in the morning so Tony should be asleep." He put a finger in front of his lips and Melody nodded with a smile.

As stealthily as they could while high, they took all the food they could and ran upstairs with an armful. The two of them ate and laughed like nothing had happened between them. As Clint laughed, Melody leaned forward, getting close to him. Both of their faces grew serious, leading up to the kiss they had longed for. Clint flipped Melody over on her back as they continued to kiss.

Melody began to move her bra straps down, removing her bra without taking off her tank top. Clint took off his shirt as Melody took off his belt and worked on getting his pants off. For the first time in a long time, Melody was back to the parts of the old her that she moved the most. The part that knew when to be open and the part that knew how to give all of herself to someone. And for Clint, it was the first time in a long time that he actually felt at home. It was the first time that each of them could feel real.

* * *

When Melody rolled over in bed and found Clint, it truly clicked to her what they had done that night. She sat up in bed with a now fully sober mind, hating that she had caved. "Clint." She spoke as she poked him. He continued with light snoring. "Clint." She spoke slightly louder, but he didn't move. She rolled her eyes and picked up her pillow, slamming it on his head. "Clint!"

His head popped up and he began to look around the room, realizing he was in Melody's. "Did we-"

"Yeah." She interrupted while crossing her arm.

He studied her with a slight smile. "My shirt looks good on you."

She picked up the pillow again, hitting him in the head as he fell back on the bed while laughing. She began to smile, but she really didn't want to smile. Their night was too magical for her to not smile. "Clint, it is not funny."

He shrugged as he looked up at her. "It is kind of funny." He sat up quickly and began to climb on top of her. "Do you want to go again?"

"No." She laughed out as she pushed him off of her. "We have to get you out of here before Tony sees you."

They both got up and Melody threw Clint his pants, trying to get him out of the house as fast as possible. Once he put them on and Melody had put on shorts, they were out of her room and down the stairs. But once they got down the stairs, they walked into Tony, Emily and Fury sitting down on what was left of their furniture and a few agents walking around. Clint and Melody were more than noticeable.

"Wow." Tony commented as Melody pushed her hair back and Clint looked around like he was uncomfortable. "What were you gonna do when you snuck him out and you were still wearing his shirt? You think I wouldn't notice?" Melody gave him an annoyed look as all the other agents walking around tried to avoid eye contact with either of them. "Please at least tell me you're back together."

"Screw yourself." Melody told him before sitting down next to him.

"What am I supposed to do?" Clint asked while looking down at his shirtless torso.

Melody smiled at him. "Stand there and be good looking. You've got points you need to earn back after telling me nothing, but lies."

Clint sighed as he put his hands on his hips. "You're never gonna let me live that one down, are you?"

Melody just smiled at him and looked back to where Fury and Emily were sitting side by side. Emily was looking at Melody uncomfortably, feeling this was a really inappropriate way for her to start to spend time with her daughter. "And you've earned yourself a few years of uncomfortable moments." Melody told Emily while giving her an annoyed stare.

Tony smiled at Melody proudly before looking back to Emily. "Welcome to the last twelve years of my life."

Emily shut her eyes, letting out a long sigh before looking back to Tony to get back on the subject. "The thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology."

"No, it was finished." Melody bit back just for the sake of arguing with her mom which Emily picked up on.

"It hasn't been particularly effective," Tony continued, baking up Melody's argument. "Until I miniaturized it and put it in my-"

"No," Fury spoke, cutting the two off before they could argue any more. "Howard said that the arc reactor was a stepping stone for something greater. He was about to kick off an energy race that was going to dwarf the arms race."

"He was on to something big." Emily continued as Melody looked over to Tony, knowing his father was a very touchy subject for him. "Something so big that it was going to make the nuclear reactor look like a triple A battery."

"Just him or was Anton Vanko in on this too?" Melody asked as she leaned forward, getting interested in the conversation.

Tony looked to her with furrowed eyebrows. "How do you know about Anton Vanko?"

She turned to him with an annoyed stare. "You don't clear your search history." He stared at her blankly, wondering just what else she knew about what he had searched. "Ever."

"Anton Vanko was the other side of that coin." Fury jumped in before they could argue some more. "Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When Howard found out, he had him deported and when the Russians found out he couldn't deliver, they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next twenty years in a vodka fueled rage."

"Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in." Clint spoke as he moved closer to them, not wanting to just be Melody's eye candy at the moment. "The son you two had the misfortune of crossing paths with in Monaco."

"You mean me?" Melody asked him as Tony gave her a light push. Melody smiled at him and suddenly, Emily felt this seed of jealousy take root in her. She would never be able to have the relationship Tony and Melody had. That took years of bonding. Years of fights. Years of make ups. Years of heart to hearts. Years of getting to know each other inside and out. Years of the two actually being a family. Something Emily and Melody would never be able to have.

"You told me I hadn't tried everything." Tony told Fury, bringing Emily back into the conversation. "What do you mean I haven't tried everything? What haven't I tired?"

"He said that you and your brother were the only ones with the means and knowledge to finish what he started." Melody looked down at the mention of her father, knowing he wouldn't be able to help.

"But, unfortunately," Emily started. "James isn't here anymore, but Melody is." She looked up at her mother, turning her head to the side. "You and Tony are the only ones with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."

"He said that?" Tony asked, ignoring all the other talk in-between.

Fury nodded, continuing to look at Tony as Emily and Melody stared at each other. "Are you that guy? Are you and Melody our people? Because if you are, you can solve the riddle of your heart."

Melody looked to Tony as he shook his head, knowing this was probably one of the hardest things he had to fathom. "I don't know where you're getting your information, but, uh, he wasn't my biggest fan."

"What do you remember about your dad, huh?" Fury asked while looking at Tony. "Melody, anything?"

All Melody did was shrug. All she heard was stories. Her father idolized the man and Tony felt unloved by him. "He was cold. He was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he _liked_ me. So, it's a little tough to digest when you're telling me he said the whole future is riding on me. I don't _get_ that." Melody put her hand on Tony's, trying to calm him down, trying to let him know that somebody loved him. All that did for Emily was let her jealousy seed grow deeper. "We're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."

"That's not true." Fury spoke as he shook his head and Emily nodded in agreement.

"Well," Tony spoke as he squeezed Melody's hand back and then let go, leaning back into his chair. "Then clearly you knew my dad better than I did."

"As a matter of fact," Fury began as he picked up a glass of water and began to drink it. "I did." Melody gave him a face like his comment was completely inappropriate. "He and your mother were a few of the founding members of SHIELD."

"My mother?!" Tony exclaimed as Melody looked to him with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Fury spoke as he looked over at Melody with a smile. "She's a spitting image of Maria Stark."

He got up from his chair to go to a case an agent had just brought in. Emily stood up in attempts to go to Melody, but Melody swerved her way to Clint, giving him a confused stare as he began to explain about the pictures up at SHIELD of the founding members and how she really did look like Maria Stark. All Emily could do was watch on. Emily wanted to jump into that moment so bad, but she also didn't. She loved the sight of it. The sight of Melody talking with Clint the way she used to talk with James. She wanted to talk to Melody about it. She wanted to be in that moment, but she also wanted to enjoy the moment of watching the sparkle in her eye every time she talked to Clint.

"You're good, right?" Fury asked as he looked back and forth from Tony to Melody.

"No." Tony protested. "I'm not good."

"You got this?"

"No." Melody protested as she threw her hands in the air, also trying to understand what was happening. "I don't_ got_ this. We don't even know what we're supposed to get."

"Natasha will remain a floater at Stark Industries with her cover intact." Fury spoke as he put his jacket on. "And you remember Agent Coulson." He spoke as he looked to the man next to him.

"It's like eighty degrees out!" Melody yelled while gesturing to Fury's jacket.

He ignored Melody's remark and continued to walk to what was left of the door. "Oh, Tony, remember, I got my eye on you."

Melody turned to Clint who was looking down with a smile. Once he saw Melody looking at him, he shrugged. "I don't know. The eye jokes just get me."

Melody raised her eyebrows at him before looking over to Coulson, leaning over to shake his hand. "Hello, Agent Coulson."

"Hello, Miss. Barnes." He spoke with a warm smile as they shook hands. He knew he barely had any time to get to know Melody, but he liked her and knew that they were going to be good friends.

"We've disabled all communications." Emily spoke professionally with her hands clasped in front of her. Melody rolled her eyes at how professional she looked, feeling like there was nothing more to her than a professional robot. "No contact with the outside world."

Tony also rolled his eyes at his sister-in-law and began to walk towards Agent Coulson. "Please, first thing I need is a little bodywork. I'll put in a little time at the lab if you can send one of your goon squad down to the Coffee Bean across the street for a Starbucks run or something like that." He put a few bills in Coulson's suit pocket and smiled up at him. "That would be nice."

"I'm not here for that." Melody, Clint and Emily watched on nervously, knowing how rude Tony was and waiting to see exactly what Coulson would say to that. "I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave,"

"Right." Melody rolled her eyes at Tony's attitude.

"Or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet."

Melody stifled a laugh as Tony just stared at him blankly and all Coulson could do was smile. "I think I've got it." Tony finally spoke.

Coulson's smile widened. "Enjoy your evening's entertainment." He spoke with a nod before walking off with Tony's money still in his pocket.

Melody continued to laugh, gaining a dirty glare from Tony. "He is _awesome_."

"You're on lockdown too." Clint finally spoke. She turned to him with a serious face as Clint just nodded, rubbing her back as she threw her head back.

Tony walked over to the case Fury had left with Emily following him. The case was all white reading: Property of H. Stark. Emily looked at Tony and nodded as they stood over the case. "James tried to figure it out a while ago." Tony looked up at her, still not understanding his brother's double life. "But he needed you."

"He should have asked." Tony answered blandly while looking back down to the case.

"Now you have Melody." Emily told him while looking back to see Melody and Clint having an argument. "And I think she may be smarter than James."

Tony looked over at Melody and smiled. "She's perfect, isn't she?"

Emily smiled while nodding, but then turned back to Tony. "She's never gonna love me, is she?" Tony gave her a sympathetic stare, wishing he could tell her something different. "Not the way she loves you."

"You don't know that, Em."

Emily scoffed and rolled her eyes. "The girl hates me."

"She doesn't hate you." Tony spoke as he put his arm around Emily, remembering how close James, Emily, Tony and Melody had been. "She just doesn't get why you left." He turned to her, taking his arm from around her. "And I don't understand why you left. What's the real story with that?"

Emily rolled her eyes and looked down at the case. "Get to work."

She began to walk the same way Coulson went when Tony called after her, causing her to turn back around. "You think you can get me out of here for a little bit? I really need to talk to Pepper."


	8. Howard's Legacies

The deal was that Tony and Melody would work for an hour and then they would let the two go and see Pepper. They were both going through what was in the case, Tony pulling out a huge blue print of the arc reactor with Howard and Anton's names on it and Melody pulling out multiple rolls of film and separating them by their labels.

Tony got in a projector once Melody showed them to him and they began watching the tapes as they went through Howard's journals. Melody looked up at the screen to see that it was one of the many practiced intros to the Stark Expo. "Everything is achievable with technology. Better living. And for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace." Melody looked over at Tony who was fidgeting with one of the top corners of one of the pages in one of the notebooks. "I'm Howard Stark and I'm here to tell you that everything you need for the future is right here."

"Tony," Melody began as she watched him. He looked up at her, ready to hear what she had to say. "You don't have to watch these. I can watch this and tell you if I find anything."

He gave her a slight smile, noticing that little bit of the old Melody in her new personality. She would always be looking out for him no matter how she acted. "I'm fine."

"Tony, what are you doing back there?" They both looked to the screen to see a little Tony messing with what was on the board demonstrating Stark Expo. "Put that back." Howard demanded while pointing at him. "Put that back where you got it from." Tony put it back looking completely ashamed which was kind of breaking Melody's heart. "Where's your mother? Maria!" James had showed up instead, picking up his younger brother and taking him away. Tony remembered that moment vividly. He remembered asking James why Dad was so mean to him and James responded with Dad didn't know how to show his love.

As Melody watched, she saw that Howard was under a lot of pressure during this time, but she knew that was no excuse to the way he treated Tony as a child. "Tony," They both turned to look back at the screen with confused faces, not sure what exactly to expect. "You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you." They both shared a quick glance before looking back to the screen. "I built this for you. And someday you'll realize that it means a whole lot more than other people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time. But one day, you and your brother will figure this out. And when you do, you'll change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation, is you."

Melody looked over to Tony who hadn't taken his eyes off the screen even when the footage stopped running. "Are you okay?" Melody finally asked him.

"Um," He finally looked away from the screen and down at his hands. "I'm gonna go talk to Pepper." He stood up and Melody looked up at him from her spot on the floor. "I'm going to try to apologize." He began to walk to the stairs when he turned around as if he almost forgot her. "Do you want to come?"

She shook her head and looked back down to the notebooks all around her. "I'll keep looking here. You go." He nodded and walked off, but Melody continued to look where he went for a long time.

Since Tony had left, Melody was reading through notebooks of Howard's scribbles. She picked up a new notebook and realized that one notebook wasn't filled with notes on the arc reactor or more discoveries which blew her mind. One notebook had all of Howard's feelings and thoughts. One notebook was Howard's diary.

She debated on whether she should read more or not once she discovered what it was. She shut it and put it to her chest, deciding it wasn't right. She knew Clint, Coulson and Emily were upstairs and she knew that neither of them would bother her so she wouldn't get caught. She sighed as curiosity got the best of her and she opened the journal, beginning to read Howard Stark's diary.

* * *

Tony sped down the street when he suddenly pulled over to the side of the road to a strawberry stand. He knew there was some connection between Pepper and strawberries and he was just hoping that it was a good one. He quickly handed the man the money, overpaying for the strawberries, forcing him to take the money even though the man kept refusing. "I have a problem with being handed things." He explained quickly. "So just drop them in there." The man carefully put the strawberries into the passenger's seat. "Thanks."

The man then pointed at him, knowing he looked familiar. "Aren't you Iron Man?"

"Thanks again." Tony told him quickly before driving off.

The man waved with a huge smile on his face. "We believe in you!"

It didn't take long to get from Stark Industries from there. Whenever someone told him he couldn't go someplace, he would simply reply with, "My name is on the building."

The same problem happened with Pepper's assistant. She was refusing to let him in so he opened the door for himself. "Miss. Potts," She announced as she tried to follow him in. "Mr. Stark is here."

"Relax." He told her as he turned to close the door on her.

"He refuses-"

"I don't." He spoke right as he shut the door and Pepper put a hand up, trying to tell him to be quiet until she got off the phone.

She argued on the phone with someone named Burt as the news station that was on began to question Pepper running Stark Industries. Tony knew she was mad about both the phone call and the news so he decided to mute the TV for her while she continued on the phone. Tony began to walk over to his pile of stuff that was in the office before Pepper moved in. "I'll get this stuff out of here." He told her, but all she did was give him a brief look before returning back to the phone call.

"We'll talk about it at the Expo." She spoke as Tony turned to the board which had the Stark Expo all planned out. "Hammer's doing some presentation. Will Tony Stark be there?"

She looked over at Tony who was sitting down in a chair in front of her desk. "Will I?"

She continued to look at him with an angry glare when she finally said, "No, he will not be there. Goodbye." She hung up the phone and turned to Tony who looked like a nervous school boy.

"Got a minute?"

"No." She spoke immediately, looking down at her desk, about to do something else.

"Come on, you just got off the phone. You have thirty seconds." She sighed and leaned back into her chair, beginning to count down from thirty. "Alright," Tony spoke quickly, realizing he literally had thirty seconds to talk to her. "I was just driving over here and I thought I was coming to basically apologize, but I'm not."

"Oh," Pepper spoke as she leaned on the desk. "You _didn't_ come here to apologize?"

"That goes without saying and I'm working on that, but I haven't been entirely upfront with you and I'm just trying to-" Tony sighed as he looked down at her moving desk decoration. "Can I move this? This is crazy. It looks like a Ferris wheel."

"No."

Tony sighed, looking down at the paperweight one more time and then back at Pepper, moving so he wouldn't be right next to it. "Do you know how short life is?" She just stared at him blankly, still clearly upset about what had happened at the party. "And if I never got to express…and by the way, this is somewhat related to me, and if I care…I mean, I care…it would be nice…I'm not expecting you to…look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it."

"Let me stop you right there," Tony looked up at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Because if you say 'I' one more time, I'm gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think." She slammed her hand on the desk, trying to get Tony's attention. "I am trying to run a company! Do you have any idea what that entails?" All he did was nod, thinking back to being a school boy in trouble. "People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you disappeared and all I'm doing is putting out the fires and taking the heat for it."

He began to play with one of paperweights on her desk which ended up shooting the top right off of her which she caught. "I am trying to do the job that you are meant to do." She told him calmly. They sat there for a moment in silence as Pepper stared him down and Tony tried not to look her in the eye. "Did you bring me strawberries?" He looked up at her, hoping for some positive reaction. "Did you know there's only one thing on earth that I'm allergic to?"

"Allergic to strawberries." He repeated while hitting her desk, knowing the connection was on the tip of his tongue. She continued to stare at him as Tony thought about what to say next. "This is progress, Pepper. I knew there was a correlation with between you and this."

She took a long breath. "I need you-"

"I need you too." He spoke as he leaned forward. "That's what I've been trying-"

"To leave," She finished her sentence and Tony felt a part of him get disappointed that he never got to tell Pepper what he came here to tell her. "Now."

"Miss. Potts?" Tony turned around to see Natalie…I mean, Natasha make her way into the office as Tony gave her a confused look.

"Come on in."

Natasha walked in as Tony continued to stare at her with a disgusted look on his face, finding it hard to believe that he ever found this woman attractive. "Wheel's up in twenty-five minutes."

"Thank you." Pepper told her as she moved behind Pepper's desk.

"Anything else, boss?" Happy asked from the back of the room.

"No-"

"I'm good, Hap." Tony spoke as Pepper stared at him for cutting off her sentence.

"I'll be just another minute."

Tony looked back and forth from Natasha to Happy, neither of them looking at him. "I lost both kids in the divorce!" He spoke happily while throwing his hands in the air.

"Where's Melody?" Pepper asked, still looking down at the papers. "I been trying to call her and I didn't see her get out of the house. Is she all right?"

"She's fine." Tony told her with a nod. "She's at home."

Pepper looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "She's staying there? With you?" Tony nodded. "And she's not killing you?"

He shrugged with a light smile growing, knowing that he had still won Melody. "We fight sometimes. You know Mel." He looked over at Natasha, wanting to get to her. "Are you blending in well here, Natalie?" She turned to Tony, giving him a glare, knowing exactly what he was doing. "Here at Stark Enterprises? Your name is Natalie isn't it?" She gave him a slight eye roll before turning back to Pepper. "I thought you two didn't get along?" Tony asked while gesturing to Pepper and Natasha.

"No." Pepper said while turning to him. "That's not so."

"It's just me you don't care for?" He asked as she stood up and didn't say anything to that. "No? Nothing?"

"Actually," She finally told him. "While you're here, maybe you and Natalie can discuss the matter of your personal belongings."

Pepper gestured to the things sitting in the corner of the office and Natasha nodded eagerly as Pepper began to walk away. "Yes, Miss. Potts." Pepper then walked out the door of the office with Happy pulling her luggage, ready for them to get on a plane to New York for the Stark Expo demonstration taking place there. "I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut." Natalie spoke, turning Tony back around, reminding him he wanted to talk to her.

"Boy, you're good." He commented as she picked up a few files, losing the innocence of "Natalie". "You are mind blowingly good. How do you do it?" He asked with fake enthusiasm. "You're a triple agent." Natasha just stood there, staring at him angrily with the files in her hands. "I've never seen anything like it. Is there _anything _real about you? Do you even speak Latin?"

She gave him an unimpressed face and began to speak Latin as she walked towards the door, leaving Tony sitting there clueless. "Wait, what?" He called once she opened the door to the office and he turned around to look at her. "What did you just say?"

"It means you can drive home or I can have you collected." She translated quickly before closing the door, leaving him in there with the moving paperweight and strawberries.

He had finally had enough of the moving paperweight. He leaned forward, grabbing it, just wanting to stop it from moving. He quickly switched hands, not wanting to see it move again so he could grab something to put up against it. It had stayed there for a second, but began moving again, causing Tony to roll his eyes and get up with his strawberries.

He took one strawberry out and threw the rest in the trashcan nearby, most of them landing on the floor. As he turned around, something in his pile of stuff caught his eye. He looked at the board of the Stark Expo plan and suddenly got an idea, deciding he had to take it with him.

* * *

Melody stormed up the stairs, looking all around. "Melody." Clint called as he walked up to her with a shirt finally on. "What's wrong?"

"Did you know?" She yelled as she moved right up to him. He just stared at her blankly. "Did you know?!" Other agents around them began to look at them as she pushed him back.

"Know what?!" Clint screamed back at her.

"Where's that bitch?" Melody asked as she moved past him and with wild eyes which began to scan the room, looking for her target.

"Who?" Clint asked as he followed her as she checked all over the first floor.

"Emily!" She yelled as she turned around to look at him.

Before she could turn around to finish her search, he grabbed her by the shoulders and stared right into her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Melody was breathing heavily, trying to keep tears from falling out of her eyes. "Did you know that it was Howard who started my project?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked again, calmly, as he searched her eyes.

"The reason I'm an experiment is because of Howard Stark. My grandfather." All he could do was stare at her dumbfounded. "He thought having three out of the four founding members of SHIELD as grandparents would give me a good start at being a SHIELD agent. And Peggy Carter, my mom's mom, approved it." Clint looked at her as she flipped through the notebook she had in her hands and pointed at a page while giving it to him. "My mom got pregnant, then Howard asked both my father and my mother what they thought and they both agreed to it."

Clint stared down at the notebook right before she ripped it from his hands and began her search for Emily again. Clint ran after her, getting right in front of her. "Emily left. She's not even here anymore." Melody took a deep breath and ran a shaky hand through her hair, feeling her whole world collapse. Not only was she an experiment to her mother and father, but to her entire family. "Come on, let's go outside." He guided her out the door with his hand on her back and she grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the counter. "Since when do you smoke?" He asked her as she began to light one of them as they got outside.

"I actually hate it. I did it because I thought it went good with my new bad girl attitude, but it does take an edge off." Her hands were shaking as she held the cigarette, taking deep breaths. "What the hell is wrong with my family?"

Clint shook his head as he rubbed her back. He opened his mouth, not really sure what to say when someone else's voice came out, not too far from them. "Melody!"

They both turned to see Kyle making his way towards them. All Melody could do was roll her eyes. "So not the time." She told him while looking back to Clint, not wanting to try to get into any conversation with him.

He smiled as he got right next to the two. "Yeah, I thought you would be like that, so I brought a little help."

Joey came out from behind Clint as hit him on the head, hard enough to knock him out. Melody almost let out a scream when Kyle put his hand over her mouth and a gun to her head. "Scream and Joey shoots Clint right between the eyes."

Melody let out a few shaky breaths as Joey put a gun right up to Clint's head as he laid on the ground, unconscious. Kyle slowly took his hand away from Melody's mouth and when she didn't scream, he nodded and began tying up her hands. "Good girl."

"What are you doing?" She asked as he pushed her forward and Joey began to drag Clint to Kyle's car.

"Well," Joey began as Kyle pushed her into the back of the car. "We're the boys." Melody's eyes grew wide and before she could say anything else, Joey hit her in the head with his pistol, knocking her out.

_**It's starting to get real! I put a lot of stuff in this chapter and the last that you'll learn more about in the next story which will completely explain Melody's family tree. I hope you all enjoyed! Please review!**_


	9. Captivity

Tony had laid the plan for the Stark Expo out on a desk. His idea was just too big to question anyone where Melody, Clint and Emily had gone even if he was thinking about the three. "Jarvis, can you kindly form a digital wire frame to make a suitable projection?"

"1974 Stark Expo model scan complete, sir."

Tony picked the scan up and away from the original model. "Uh, how many buildings are there?"

"Am I to include the Belgium waffle stands?"

"It was rhetorical." Tony spoke, too focused to deal with Jarvis's sass at the moment. "Just show me." He began to spin the scan around and then adjust it so it was standing up. "What does that look like to you, Jarvis? Not unlike an atom?" He leaned forward going to the small circle in the middle which was the globe in the center of everything. "In which case the nucleus would be here. Highlight it." He spoke as he pointed at the globe.

He made the globe get bigger and looked around at everything else around it and began to get rid of the pathways. "What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?"

"I'm discovering-" He shook his head once he realized that was the wrong word to use. "Correction. Rediscovering a new element." He continued to study it, his hand resting his chin as he thought. "Lose the landscaping, parking lots, exits, entrances." With more things gone, the more it all made sense. "Structure the protons and neutrons using the pavilions." They began to go into the circle in the middle, losing its globe status and blowing his mind. "This is the framework." He whispered while chuckling about how brilliant this was.

And like that, the framework of the element was done. He threw his hands out so the atom grew, surrounding him. He looked around in wonderment, finding this all one of the most amazing things he had ever seen. "Dead for almost twenty years and still taking me to school."

He laughed as he shrunk the atom down to a small size. "The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium."

"Thanks, Dad." He spoke as he continued to look down at the atom with a more grateful glance.

"Unfortunately, it's impossible to synthesize."

Tony smiled, ready to accept that challenge. Nothing was truly impossible. "Get ready for a major remodel, fellas!"

* * *

Ivan had been ignoring everything Justin had told him. Instead of Justin using him, like he thought, Ivan was now using Justin. He had made his drones and then he had made his own suit along with more whips, powered by the arc reactor. Although, Justin had a plan to get his drones done faster by giving him one of the things he wanted.

When Melody woke up, she quickly noticed she was tied down to a chair. She began to struggle when a voice interrupted her. "It's no use." When she looked to her left, she saw Emily also tied up to a chair.

"Mom?" She asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"Some SHIELD agents have been compromised. They knocked me out and dragged my ass here."

Melody began to look around in the all-white room, having no idea where they were. "Do you know where we are?"

"No idea." Emily spoke as she also looked around. "Who kidnapped us?"

"My evil ex-boyfriend and my evil ex-trainer." Emily turned to her, giving her a confused look, causing Melody to just shrug. "I had a bad girl phase." Then Melody's eyes grew wide, realizing something. "Clint. They took Clint too. Did you see him?" Emily shook her head, causing Melody to throw her head back desperately. "Clint, where are you?"

The door right across from them opened, alerting both Melody and Emily. Kyle and Joey both walked in to the room while holding Clint whose wrists were bounded together by rope. Melody felt a rush of anger and helplessness all at once. She continued to struggle more once the door shut and she saw Clint looking at her, trying to assure her in some way that he was all right and she didn't need to worry about him. "Hello, Melody."

"You crazy son of a bitch, get me out of here!" She yelled as she moved around in her chair violently.

"See," Joey began as he moved towards her. "We can't do that. You're Ivan's little present."

"Ivan's alive?!" Melody practically screamed out.

Kyle turned to look at Joey with an annoyed glance. "Shit," Joey spoke once he saw Kyle's face. "I forgot that nobody knew."

"Oh," Melody commented. "I get it. Kyle's the brains and Joey's the brawn."

They both turned to Melody annoyed when Emily looked back and forth at the two and asked, "There's no way you two boys are doing this all by yourself. Who you working for?"

The two boys looked at each other with a smile as Clint rolled his eyes. "So now you're quiet?" Clint commented.

"Shut the hell up." Kyle told Clint who just smiled even wider.

"So, which one's in charge?" Emily asked as she leaned back in her chair. "I mean, one of you needs to call the shots."

"No one calls the shots." Joey told them.

"Oh," Melody spoke in a confused voice while leaning back in the chair like her mother. "So, which one of you reports to Ivan?"

"We both do." Joey told him with a shrug.

"Don't tell them! Justin's gonna kill us!" Right when Kyle yelled that out, he shut his eyes and Melody's mouth dropped.

"Justin Hammer?" Melody asked. "He's the one you're working for? He has Ivan?"

Joey shrugged. "Yeah, he's our uncle."

"Shut up, Joey!" Kyle yelled at him.

"You already told them we worked for Hammer!"

"They're agents." Melody looked over at Clint, giving him a smile, knowing how easy this would be. "They're supposed to know how to get everything out of us!"

"I'm not an agent." Melody told him with a smile. "So, you can talk to me."

Joey shrugged while looking to Kyle. "She doesn't know anything."

"He's right, Kyle." Emily said with a smile. "She doesn't know anything."

Kyle rolled his eyes and looked back to Joey. "She's smart."

"He's right, Joey." Clint told him with a shrug. "She is smart." All three of them smiled as they looked from Kyle to Joey, ready to play with them.

* * *

Tony had worked all day, getting things ready to synthesize the new element and after a few hours, he was visited by Agent Coulson. "I heard you broke the perimeter."

Tony looked up at him. "Under your Supervisor's help." Tony spoke, referring to Emily. "Have you seen her by the way? And Clint? And Melody? They like disappeared or something." Coulson shook his head. "And that was like three years ago. Where have you been?"

"I was doing some stuff." He spoke as he moved around all of the things in his way to get to Tony.

"Well, me too and it worked." Coulson began to look around with a confused face, not understanding how all of this happened when he came across something in a box which took his breath away. "I'm playing for the home team, Coulson." He knew the only reason he came down here was to make sure he was working. "You and all your fabulous fury freak brothers. So, are you gonna let me work or bust my balls?"

"What's this doing here?" Coulson asked as he picked up a red, white and blue shield with one huge star in the middle that was cut in half. It obviously wasn't finished.

"That's it." Tony spoke once he saw it. Coulson looked down at it with a confused face and then back up at Tony. "Bring that to me."

"You know what this is?" Coulson was starting to get excited as he brought the shield to him. He was hoping that someone knew just as much about the Captain as he did.

"Lift the coil." Tony commanded as Coulson handed him the shield. He did as he said even if he was left confused. He put the shield under the coil and Coulson felt like he probably shouldn't have done what he told him to. "Now drop it." He did as Tony said which began crushing the shield. Tony moved behind him, picked up the level and put it on the coil. He gave a satisfied smile once it leveled out. "Perfect." He took the level off and looked back to Coulson. "I'm busy. What do you want?"

He shook his head, finally looking away from the shield. "Nothing. Goodbye." Tony blinked a couple of times, thinking it was random. "I've been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico."

"Fantastic." Tony told him with a nod. "Land of enchantment."

"So I'm told."

"Secret stuff?" Tony inferred with a shrug.

"Something like that." Tony smiled a little bit and Coulson leaned in to shake his hand. "Good luck."

"Bye. Thanks."

"We need you." Coulson told him once he broke away from the handshake.

"Yeah, more than you know."

"Not that much." Coulson turned away and Tony watched after him while shaking his head, getting back to working.

* * *

Kyle and Joey were both rubbing their heads after Melody, Emily and Clint's talking. "What am I even doing here?" Melody finally asked while throwing her hands in the air.

Kyle moved up to her, giving her a smile. "You're Ivan's present."

Emily looked at the two worriedly. "You told me that. You never told me how."

"Because once Ivan gives Justin what he wants, you're going straight to Ivan's room and he's killing you with his bare hands." Melody blinked a little bit, her face growing serious, resulting in a bigger smile from Kyle. "What tough girl? You've got nothing for that?"

Melody moved in, getting her tough girl face back on. "Then why are Clint and Emily here?"

"Leverage." Joey spoke as he pulled out a knife from one of his baggy pockets, causing Melody to begin to twitch from how nervous she was. "And you haven't been behaving well, Melody." He stuck the knife into Clint's leg as he screamed and Melody began struggling even more to get out of her chair.

"Leave him alone!" Melody yelled to Kyle who was still right in front of her. "He didn't do anything!"

Kyle pulled out a gun and pointed it right at her head, causing Melody to let out a deep, frustrated breath and Emily to begin to twitch with nervousness. "Why don't you shut up or the next one is gonna hurt like hell."

"You wouldn't shoot me. Ivan wants me fresh and unharmed, right?" Melody told him with a smug smile.

"No, you're right." Kyle spoke as he moved to gun away from her, putting it down at his side. "But I'd shoot her."

Without looking, he put his gun up to Emily, shooting her in the stomach, knocking her chair down. Melody screamed and when she looked to her mother, her eyes were shut and she wasn't moving. "What the hell?!" Joey screamed. Melody couldn't take her eyes off of her mother. She searched all over for any sign of life, but couldn't find one. "Hammer told us not to kill anyone!"

"Shut up, Joey!" Melody turned away from her mother, taking huge deep breaths. She felt like everything was falling apart. She loved her mother. That was one thing she couldn't deny. And now, she wasn't getting up and it was destroying her from the inside. Kyle turned to Melody as she was fuming and leaned down on her arm rests on the chair so he could look her right in the eye. "You gonna behave now, princess?"

"You...psycho!" Melody head butted him and then kicked him in the balls as Clint elbowed Joey in the head, ripped the knife out of his thigh and stuck Joey to the wall by forcing the knife through his shoulder. Emily got up from her spot with the chair still attached to her and flipped over, breaking the chair by landing on Kyle, knocking him unconscious. "Mom!" Melody screamed as Emily took Kyle's knife and began to hurry to Melody, cutting her loose.

Right when she cut off the rope, Melody threw her arms around her mother and began to let tears fall down her cheeks. Clint took the knife from Emily, cutting his hands loose and then got distracted by something wedged between all the things piled as storage in the room. "I am so sorry." Melody began apologizing. "I am so sorry for every bad thing I had ever said about you and how mean I was to you. I didn't mean any of it."

Emily smiled and began to pat her back as Melody stuffed her face into Emily's shoulder. "It's okay."

"Are you okay?" Melody gasped out, breaking away from the hug to look at Emily.

Emily unzipped her SHIELD uniform and showed her the bullet proof vest where the bullet was still stuck in, taking it out like it was nothing with no blood anywhere. "I'm fine."

Melody was still shaking though. "When I saw you go down, I just-I thought-" Emily cut her off by pulling her into a hug as she continued to cry. "I love you."

Joey moved his free hand to the knife sticking him to the wall and pulled it out of his body. "I love you." Emily told her, feeling so much happiness that Melody had finally said it.

Joey aimed the knife at Emily's back so it would get both of the girls and he was about to throw it, when an arrow whizzed through the air and pinned Joey's other arm to the wall. As he screamed, both of the girls jumped out of the hug and looked to where they had heard the arrow coming from. Clint was in a crouching position with a bow in hand. They all let silence pass over them when Melody finally decided she couldn't hold back words anymore. "What the hell was that?!"

"I just saved your lives!" Clint spoke as he got out of the position he was in and limped to the knife on the floor, picking it up.

"Where did you even get a bow and arrow? How did you even make that shot?" She asked right before Clint shoved the knife into Joey's other arm, making sure he was stuck there this time as he screamed from the pain.

"It was sitting over there." He told her while pointing to all the things that were stuck in the corner of the room. "It's Hammer tech, though. I was expecting _something _to be wrong with it. And bow and arrow is my weapon. I have good eyes."

"Alright, hawk eye." Melody spoke sarcastically, causing Clint to roll his eyes.

"We've got to get out of here." Emily spoke to them.

"Are you okay?" Melody asked while moving to Clint while looking down at his leg. "Does it hurt?"

"Well it doesn't feel good, Mel."

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "We have to do something about him." Melody spoke while looking down at an unconscious Kyle.

They all looked over at Joey who was struggling to get out and then back down at Kyle. "Well," Emily spoke with a shrug. "I think the right thing to do is to tie him up." Melody looked up at her and smile. "Don't you?"

"You are so bad ass." Melody commented with a smile, causing a bigger smile from Emily, knowing they would finally be able to be mother and daughter.

* * *

Tony finally synthesized the element and put it into the arc reactor, proving to be a perfect replacement. "Dummy," Tony asked as he began to look around at everything all around the workshop scattered. "Can you clean up this mess?"

Dummy began to get to work as the phone began ringing. "Incoming call from a blocked number, sir."

"Phone privilege is reinstated." Tony spoke cheerfully after SHIELD had cut it all off to make him work. He leaned forward and pressed the speaker button, leaning in, expecting to have a conversation with Coulson about New Mexico or something else he needed to do for SHIELD. "Coulson, buddy, how's the land of enchantment?"

"Hey, Tony." Tony frowned once he heard the thick Russian accent come out of the speakers. "How you doing?" Tony sat there for a moment, feeling fear run through his whole body, making it cold. "A double cycle."

"You what?" Tony asked him nervously. Ivan was currently sitting in his cell with the two men sent to watch him hanging from the ceiling as blood dripped down his arm.

"You told me double cycle is more power." Ivan spoke, trying to jog Tony's memory of their talk while they were in the prison in Monaco. "Good advice."

"You sound pretty spritely for a dead guy." Tony tried to sound sarcastic, but he couldn't deny that he was scared of this man.

"You too." Tony shut his eyes, taking a huge breath before hitting the mute button. "Now, the true history of the Stark name will be written."

"Jarvis, where is he?" He asked in a stressful voice.

"Accessing the Oracle Grid." On the computer monitor, it showed the United States. "Eastern Seaboard."

"What your father did to my family over forty years, I will do to you in forty minutes."

He hit the button to unmute it before saying, "Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out."

He hit the button to mute the call again so Jarvis could update him. "Tri-state area. Manhattan."

"I'm off right after I kill the Barnes girl." Tony stiffened at the mention of Melody. "I hear the men keeping me here got me her mother and boyfriend as well." Tony looked at the computer screen, shaking with the anticipation of getting the trace on the call. "I hope you're ready."

The line beeped, signaling the end. "Call trace incomplete." Tony banged the table before throwing his face in his hands.

"Call Melody, Jarvis." Tony commanded in a shaky voice. "Call her right now." The line rang, but then went to voicemail, causing him to bang his hand on the table again.

Ivan got up from where he sat, satisfied because he finally had the upper hand. When he walked into the room where they were keeping Melody, he saw Kyle tied to the chair and both of Joey's arms stuck to the wall. "Hey!" He yelled at Ivan. "Can you help us out?" Ivan rolled his eyes angrily and shut the door on them even though Joey screamed for him to come back.

Back at home, Tony sat there with his face in his hands, quietly weeping knowing Melody would be dead in almost no time until his phone began ringing. His entire heart was hurting and he wondered how he could even begin to have a conversation on the phone after he heard about Melody, but something was telling him he had to answer that phone. "Answer it." Tony spoke in a muffled voice to Jarvis.

Right when the phone stopped ringing, he heard, "Tony?"

He sat up at the sound of her voice. "Melody?" He got close to the phone, wanting to just be by her side already. "Baby, is that really you?"

"It's really me." Melody told him. "Are you all right?"

"Don't worry about me. Melody, honey, where are you?" He asked her quickly.

"Clint, Emily and I are in New York."

"New York?"

"Yeah, Tony, listen. Ivan's alive."

"I know. I just got a call from him saying that he had the three of you. Did you get out?"

"Of course we did." He smiled a little bit at Melody's obvious tone he thought he wasn't going to be able to hear ever again. "It's Hammer who's funding the whole thing. We're heading to the Stark Expo now, but we need you there, Tony. We need Iron Man there. Ivan's planning something big. We don't know what, but it's big."

"I found an element that replaces the palladium."

Melody's eyes grew wide. "What element?"

"Don't know yet. Just rediscovered it."

"So you're not dying?"

"Not anymore."

"Get to New York quick so I can hug you."

"On it, Mel."

Tony hung up the phone and put the new arc reactor in his chest. "You want to run some tests?" Tony asked Jarvis. "Run 'em and assemble the suit while you're at it."

"We are unclear as to the effects-"

"I don't want to hear it, Jarvis!" The arc reactor began to glow a blue white, checking the arc reactor out, causing Tony to begin coughing. "It tastes like coconut. And metal." He continued to cough as the light grew brighter. "Oh wow, yeah!" He loved this new element very much.

**_The way I have it planned, there are only two more chapters left, but you guys know by now that sometimes things don't go as planned. Hope you enjoyed! Review!_**


	10. Melody to the Rescue

_**I know I said there was only one more chapter after this one, but change of plans! You get two more chapters!**_

Pepper and Natasha walked up the stairs to get into the Stark Expo and took their seats, ready to see Hammer's presentation. He danced on the stage, getting an applause, but they all knew if it was Tony, the applause would be bigger. Right when Hammer got to the stage, Emily and Melody were helping Clint up the stairs and through the door. A huge security guard got in front of them while putting his hand up, stopping them. "You can't go in there without a pass."

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me right now?!" Melody screamed at the security guard. "Do you have any idea _who _I am?"

The guard looked her up and down unimpressed. "No, and I really don't give a shit."

Her mouth dropped and Clint shut his eyes, knowing exactly what was going to happen. "You probably shouldn't have done that."

"I," She started out with an annoyed smile. "Am Melody fucking Barnes." The guard's face then twisted into realization and fear at what he had said to her. "Now," She moved in so she could read his nametag. "I'm gonna give you a choice, Doug. You can either let us pass into my family's expo which I shouldn't need a pass for or I can get someone here right now to get you mistakenly involved in something very bad which will have you living in Liechtenstein for the rest of your life!" He stared at her in fear, but still didn't know what to say. "Do you know where Liechtenstein is?" He shook his head. "It's a 62 square mile country in-between Switzerland and Austria in the Alps!"

"I don't want to go there." He told her while shaking his head.

"I don't think you do, Doug." He reached behind the security guard's counter and pulled out three passes. Melody snatched them out of his hands and gave him a smile. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"That's my girl." Emily commented as Melody picked up Clint's arm and put it around her shoulders.

"Damn, Melody." Clint commented as they began to walk.

"Oh, he deserved it." Melody told him as she and Emily opened the door.

Right when they got into the auditorium, Justin was already standing on the stage. "Do you think we can stop him?" Emily asked.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today I present to you the new face of the United States military. The Hammer drones!"

"Nope." Melody answered as she looked to the drones rising up from inside the stage with perfect arc reactors. "We need to find Pepper and Natasha."

"But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be the need for man to be present in the theater of war."

"Please don't tell me he made a suit." Clint complained as Hammer backed up to make room for something big.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype in the variable threat response battle suit and its pilot, Air Force Lt. Colonel James Rhodes!"

"What?!" Melody yelled out as the stage opened.

"_And_ he made a suit." Clint spoke while hanging his head.

"More like Tony made a suit and Rhodey kind of borrowed it." Emily explained.

"I don't care!" Melody yelled at them. "Tony," She whispered. "Please get here soon."

Rhodey put his hand up in a salute, causing all the other drones to do it and then Hammer. "For America and its allies, Hammer industries is reporting-"

There was a sound in the distance, causing everyone to turn around to see Iron Man flying into the expo. Melody smiled a little bit and then turned back to Emily and Clint as the crowd erupted in applause. "We have to work on getting everyone out of here."

"I can barely walk, Mel." Clint protested.

"Ivan's gonna do something big here and now." Melody argued. "He wants to make a scene and all eyes are on the Stark Expo. This is the perfect place and all these people are about to be in the middle of a battlefield."

The crowd got silent once a gun on Rhodey's suit aimed right for Tony. "Oh no." Melody whispered.

"Is that you?" Tony asked Rhodey as he began to step back.

"No, that's not me." Rhodey spoke in a panicked voice. "I don't know what's doing that. I can't move. I'm locked up! You have to get out of here now! The whole system has been compromised!"

Everyone began to scream and run towards the exit as Melody, Emily and Clint pushed their way through the crowd to find Natasha and Pepper. Tony flew out of the auditorium, sending the drones to begin shooting after him. Glass fell down on everyone around them and Rhodey and all the drones flew after him.

"Pepper!" Melody yelled right when she saw her strawberry blonde hair.

Pepper turned around and the two began running to each other. Melody threw her arms around Pepper and then looked to Natasha as Emily and Clint moved to join them. "We have to get to the control booth."

Natasha nodded and Melody wrapped her arm through Pepper's with Emily and Clint following and Natasha leading the way. "Who is that woman?" Pepper asked as she subtly looked behind her.

Melody looked to Pepper, knowing they had a lot to talk about. "My mom."

Pepper's eyes widened as the two continued walking and Melody gave her a cheesy smile, hoping that Pepper wouldn't kill her for keeping something like that from her. "We have a lot to talk about, young lady."

They both turned away from each other, Melody nodding in agreement. "You have no idea."

Rhodey had all his guns locked on Tony and all the drones followed him, wreaking havoc on the crowd of people.

Hammer also had the idea of going to the control room and he beat the others there. "What's going on?" He asked the man who was working the computers. "What's happening?"

"The software has been overridden." He told him as he continued to work on getting back control.

"What? What do you mean it's been overridden?"

"Someone took over the drones." He told him obviously.

"That's impossible." He turned to the man next to him who was also trying to get control back. "Call the guards."

"All the phones are down, sir." He told him quickly, still trying to work.

"Well…then call their cells." Hammer was starting to feel hopeless.

"Their cells aren't working either, sir."

"He's locked us out of the mainframe." The first man told him.

"Who's locked us out of the mainframe?" Melody asked as she walked down the stairs with Pepper, Emily, Clint and Natasha.

"Please, please," Hammer spoke while waving his arms towards them. "Go away. I've got this handled."

"Have you now?!" Pepper yelled at him.

"Yes I do!" Melody was about ready to drop kick him in the face. "In fact, if your guy wouldn't have shown up, this wouldn't be happening. So, please, go away! Thank you!" He turned to the man working on the computer and whispered, "Listen, we've got to get these bitches out of here."

"That's it." Natasha spoke before looking to Emily who nodded in agreement. Emily grabbed him by the back of the jacket, punched him in the face and then Natasha took the back of his jacket, slamming him down onto the table while pinning his arm behind his back. "Tell me who's behind this." Natasha demanded. "Who's behind this?"

He rolled his eyes, but Natasha twisted his arm even harder. "Ivan. Ivan Vanko."

"Where is he?"

"He's in my facility."

Natasha broke away from him and Clint shrugged. "We could have told you that, Nat."

She rolled her eyes at him and turned to Emily. "We've got to get to Hammer's."

"If he's even still there." Melody spoke up.

"Go." Clint told them. Melody turned to him with her eyes growing slightly wide. They had been through everything together up to this point. "I won't be much help with my wound." They all looked down to his leg which was now tied up so he wouldn't lose any more blood. "Go and I'll stay here with Pepper."

Melody leaned forward, pulling him into a kiss that Clint wasn't expecting, but he kissed back, wrapping his arm around her lower back as she held onto his face. When they pulled away, Melody stared up at Clint, not even expecting herself to do that. "Be careful."

"You be careful." He told her before she pulled him in for one more quick peck on the lips.

The girls ran off and Clint watched as Pepper pulled her phone out and began to call the cops. "No, honey. Don't call the authorities."

"Step aside!" Pepper demanded to Hammer. "Step aside!" Clint smiled at her as Hammer moved out of her way, knowing that Pepper didn't even need him to be there with her. She could handle it all herself. "Tell me everything you know. Go."

Natasha reached into her purse and pulled out a SHIELD uniform, giving it to Melody. "We had this made for you."

Melody looked down at the uniform and then at Natasha, a little creeped out by the gesture. "When did you people measure me?"

Together they ran out into the chaos to see Happy going towards them. "Nobody's answering their phones. What's going on?"

"Get in the car." Natasha commanded. "Take us to Hammer Industries."

"I'm not taking you anywhere." He protested.

"You want me to drive?!" Melody asked him angrily right when she reached him.

"No." He protested. "I'm driving." Melody nodded like she knew that was exactly what was going to happen. "Get in the car." The three of them got into the back seat when Happy noticed who all was in the car. "_Emily_?"

"My mom's back!" Melody yelled while looking at him. "Can we all get over it?"

With that, Happy began driving and Natasha and Melody began changing into their SHIELD uniforms. When they got to Hammer Industries, Natasha got out and looked to Happy as he got out of the car. "Stay in the car."

"I'm not staying in the car."

"I said stay in the car." She told him firmly.

"What are the three of you wearing?" He asked while looking at their outfits. Emily began to climb the steps and break into the building. "Look, I'm not letting any of you go in there alone. Especially you, Melody. It's my job to protect you."

"I can protect myself." Melody protested as she opened the door once it became unlocked, but Happy made sure that he went in first. Happy got into a fist fight with the first guard that tried to stop them and the girls went forward, ready to take on the rest.

Natasha slid past the first man who tried to take them on and threw a device at him that began electrocuting him. Emily ran forward, jumped up on a table and kicked one of the guards in the face while Melody knocked one of the men down to the ground and then used him as the leverage to jump up and kick someone else in the face.

The three joined each other again, looking back to see Happy still fighting with the first man. "Nice job, Melody." Emily commented as they turned around and continued down the hallway to get rid of the others.

Natasha threw smoke bombs at two of the guards and Melody kicked one of their feet from under him, sending him to the ground, hitting his head hard. Emily knocked the other guy down easily. The three of them moved back up and went after the three men coming after them. Natasha wrapped a string around his neck, sending blows to the others, taking two down. Melody ran after the one who got past Natasha and jumped on him, swinging around him until she knocked him down, taking the mace spray he tried to use on her.

She flipped head back up and Emily ran and jumped over her, breaking one of the man's arms after he tried to get to Melody. When he tried to fight back, Emily elbowed him in the face and flipped him over on his back.

The three of them got up from their spots and walked side to side through the hallway of all the men they had taken down. One got up and decided to give it another try, but Melody just sprayed him with the mace spray, not even bothering to look at him as he screamed.

They all went back to where Happy was still fighting the guy who went after them. They watched on as Happy was struggling. "Should we help him?" Natasha asked Melody.

Melody sighed while shaking her head. "It'll only make it worse."

Happy then leaned in, biting the man's ear, Melody making a face, imagining the pain. Happy then punched him the gut as hard as he could two times and ended it with a punch in the face, landing him on his back. "I got him!" Happy yelled happily, but quickly saw all the other guys lying on the floor.

Melody threw her hands in the air with a shrug. "You coming, Hap?"

He let out a sigh and walked over to them tiredly. "I got him. Did you see that?"

She placed a hand on his back and began rubbing it. "I saw it, Happy."

Natasha burst through one of the rooms with her guns out, but all they found was two dead men hanging from the ceiling and no Ivan. "This had to be where they were keeping him." Emily spoke as she moved past Natasha.

Melody moved right to the computer and began clicking and typing things, totally focused on what she was doing. "What are you doing?" Happy asked her, Natasha and Emily also wondering the same thing.

"I'm rebooting Rhodey's suit." She spoke quickly, trying not to get distracted. While she was working on the reboot, Rhodey was working on destroying Tony in the planetarium. "Almost done." She announced. And by the press of one more button, Rhodey had control of the suit. Melody smiled and a window popped up of Tony's webcam which she had also hacked. "You got your only friend back, Tony."

He rolled his eyes at her and looked into the camera. "Stop hacking into my stuff."

"You shouldn't have taught me how to hack in the first place."

"Well done with the new chest piece." Natasha commented while moving right next to Melody, reading all the things that came up on the computer monitor. Melody looked up at the other monitor, noticing everyone working in the control room at the Stark Expo had taken control. "I'm reading a significantly higher output and your vitals look promising."

"Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying." Melody shut her eyes at his response and Pepper's eyes grew wide once she heard that.

"What do you mean you're not dying?" Pepper asked him, Tony's eyes growing wide at the sound of her voice. "Did you say you're dying?"

"That you?" He tried to casually play it off. "Nope. I'm not. Not anymore."

"What's going on?" She asked in a panicked voice as Natasha continued to look at the computer which was tracking the drones.

"I was gonna tell you."

"You were gonna tell me?! You really were dying?!"

"You didn't let me-"

"Why didn't you tell me that?!" Clint and Hammer stood next to Pepper uncomfortably, feeling like they were in the middle of a very personal argument.

"I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you!"

"Hey," Natasha spoke. "Save it for the honeymoon. You've got incoming, Tony." Melody leaned forward looking at the screen again. "Looks like the fight is coming to you."

"You're gonna need some help." Melody commented, looking at all the drones going for him.

Tony looked to Melody, not wanting to get her involved on all of that, but also at the same time, knowing he could use her. It was one of the very frustrating things about being a parent figure. "Suit up and get down here, Mel."

She smiled at him, happy that he was actually letting her go fight with them. She felt like he knew she could do it. Like he really did trust her. She turned around to Happy. "Do you still have the suitcase suit?"

"Yeah, I have the suitcase suit. Do you need the suitcase suit?"

"Of course I need the suitcase suit." Melody told him obviously. "How else am I supposed to suit up?!" He opened his mouth like he was going to argue more with her. "Go get the suitcase suit!"

Happy ran off without further argument and Melody turned back to the screen with Tony on it. "Pepper?"

"Are you okay now?" She asked him, still obviously annoyed with him.

"I am." Tony assured. "Don't be mad I will formally apologize when I'm-"

"I am mad!"

"Not fending off a Hammeroid attack!"

"Fine." She sighed out angrily.

"We could have been in Venice."

"Oh, please." She spoke with an eye roll.

"I got it!" Melody turned around to see Happy hurrying to her with the case.

Melody took it from him and Emily hurried to her, stopping her before she put on the suit. "Melody," Emily was about to tell her not to go. To stay here and wait to see how it turned out. But when she saw that sparkle in her eye of wanting to do something so bad, she knew she couldn't. She and Melody were just starting to make things work. They were just starting to get along and she couldn't ruin it now. Melody wasn't a little girl anymore even if that's the only way she wanted to remember her. She was a grown up and she had to let her be a grown up. "Be careful."

Melody smiled at her and nodded. "I will, Mom."

Emily pulled her in for a quick hug and when they let go, Melody stepped on the suitcase suit, letting the leg began to assemble as she reached down and began to pull the rest of the suit on her. The helmet locked on, signaling the finishing of the assembling and stepped back, getting ready to fly out of the ceiling. "Someone might want to call the cops on Kyle and Joey in the next room." With that, she was off as everyone else stared up at her worriedly, praying for her safety.


	11. Battlefield

Rhodey laid in the pool of water in the planetarium, still trying to figure out how to fully use the suit now that it was no longer being controlled. The camera came on right when Tony began tapping the helmet. "Snap out of it, buddy. I need you." Melody came flying into the planetarium in the suitcase suit. Tony looked up at her as she took off the helmet and hurried to Rhodey with a worried look on her face. "They're coming. Come on, let's go. Get up."

Rhodey's helmet came off right when Melody reached the two. "Oh man," He spoke while rolling his eyes. "You can have your suit back."

Tony and Melody laughed as they both reached down, grabbing his hands to pull him up into a standing position. "Are you okay?" Melody asked him.

"Yeah, are you?"

She shrugged. "I just got here. It's a little too soon to be asking."

He rolled his eyes at her with a smile, pulling her into a quick side hug and then turned to Tony. "Tony, look, I'm sorry. Okay?"

"Don't be." Tony told him with a shrug.

"No. I should have trusted you."

"I'm the one who put you in this position. Forget it." Melody looked back and forth at them as she stood in the middle.

"No, it's your fault. I just wanted to say: I'm sorry."

"That's all I wanted to hear, partner."

A small moment of silence passed over them, Melody sighing because of it. "Are we done here, ladies?" They both turned to her with an annoyed glance so she threw her hands in the air. "They're coming in hot any second. What's the play?"

"Well," Rhodey spoke while looking around. "We want to take the high ground so let's get the biggest gun up on that ridge."

They all nodded in agreement and began walking to where Rhodey had pointed out. "Where do you want to be?" Tony asked both Rhodey and Melody.

"Where you going?" Rhodey asked, thinking _he _was the biggest gun.

"What are you talking about?" Melody asked, thinking_ she_ was the biggest gun. "You have a big gun." Melody spoke with her hands on her hips. "You are not _the_ big gun."

"Don't be jealous." Rhodey spoke to both Tony and Melody while shaking his head.

"And that makes _you _the big gun?" Tony asked her.

"Obviously." She told him with an eye roll.

Tony pointed at the arc reactor and smiled to Melody. "I'm the bad ass."

"I'm the SHIELD legacy!" Melody let out an angry breath and turned back to Rhodey. "You go up top and we'll draw them in."

"What?!" Tony complained as Rhodey walked away.

Melody turned back to him, shoving her finger in his face. "Don't you question me!" Tony groaned like a teenager and began to walk off. "What are you doing?!" She asked him urgently. "Don't stay down here! That's the worst place to be!"

"What do you want from me?!" He yelled at her while throwing his arms in the air, absolutely done with her bossiness.

"It's the kill box, Tony." Rhodey spoke as he moved up to them, trying to convince Tony of Melody's point. "This is where you go to die."

A drone then landed behind Tony, all of them jumping to look at it. Another one landed behind Rhodey. And another behind Melody. Drones quickly began to land all around, all of them knowing there was no time to get a plan together. They stood with their backs together and brought their helmets down, ready to fight together.

It had turned into a full-fledged battlefield. The drones began shooting at them, but they were humans using a brain, the drones were just computers. They began blasting the drones and tearing them apart like they were nothing. Rhodey completely destroyed one with his bullets, Tony crushed one with his fist and Melody's suit detected a missile going straight for her, causing her to dodge and blow three drones with one of her missiles. "That's why_ I'm _the big gun." Melody told Tony who was right behind her.

He rolled his eyes. "And who made the suit?"

"I actually made the suitcase suit, remember?"

"Can you two shut up for five seconds?!" Rhodey asked the two just as two drones got behind him. Tony and Melody ran to them, destroying them with their guns in seconds.

Rhodey was destroying them with his bullets, Melody with her missiles and Tony with his fighting skills, all having their own signature weapons, but the drones just kept coming. Tony then got an idea. "Melody, Rhodey, get down!" They both did as he said and a laser came out of his suit. He swiped it over the entire area, taking down all the drones and even some trees.

Rhodey and Melody slowly got up, half expecting a drone to come after them again, but the place was completely quiet. "I think you should lead with that next time."

Tony shrugged at Rhodey's comment in agreement. "Yeah, sorry. I can only use that once. It's a one off." Tony turned to Melody, smiling even if she couldn't see him with his helmet on. "That's why _I'm_ the big gun."

Rhodey shook his head at their constant arguing. "It's not obvious that you're related or anything."

* * *

Hammer stood behind the man working the computer as Pepper and Clint kept a safe distance away from him, only keeping him entertained until the police got there. "I told you that five minutes ago." Hammer complained to the man as the police made their way to them.

The officers went right to Pepper and Clint, in response they looked to Hammer. "That's our guy here."

Hammer stared at her for a second, not really comprehending what was happening. "Excuse me?"

"Sir, you're under arrest." The officer began to grab his hand and pull out his handcuffs.

"Are you kidding me?!" He yelled out at them. "I'm trying to help here!" He then looked to Pepper, laughing like it all started to make sense, causing Clint to stand in front of Pepper protectively in fear of what he would do. "I get it. I see what you're doing. You're gonna pin this on me." Pepper stared at him with a confused face, not understanding what he was getting at. "That's good. You're starting to think like a CEO. Taking out the competition." Pepper's face then hardened, knowing that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to feel like she wasn't doing the right thing, but he couldn't change her mind. "I like it." They began to take him away and Hammer was staring at Pepper viciously. "You think you're making a problem for me? I'm going to make a problem for you! I'm gonna see you again _real_ soon."

Once he was gone, police officers moved to Pepper and Clint, getting ready to escort them out of the building. "He is such an _ass_." Clint commented, still looking at the direction they had taken Hammer as Pepper got her stuff.

Pepper scoffed at his comment and moved right to his ear. "Your girlfriend slept with him."

"What?!" Clint asked, spinning around quickly to see Pepper and the police officers already walking away from him. "That's not fair!" Clint called after her as he tried to catch up with them. "I'm injured!"

When Clint caught up to them, they were speaking about the other police officers that were on their way here. "When they get here, I think you should station them at the southeast and both west exits." Pepper advised.

"We shut down the train in and out of Willis Point already."

"Well, have city buses there to ferry people to operating lines."

"Yeah." The officer agreed with her as she and Clint stopped at the steps. "You coming with us?"

"No." Clint spoke while watching Pepper who was looking around worriedly, knowing she wanted to stay. "We'll stay until the park is clear."

The officer looked down at his leg and shook his head. "You should really get to the hospital."

Clint shook his head while looking down at it. "I've had worse. It's not life threatening. I'll be fine for now." The police officer smiled to them both and then turned away as Pepper and Clint looked out at all the damage that had been done.

* * *

Back at Hammer Industries, Natasha, Emily and Happy were all crowded around the computer because of one thing displayed on it. "Heads up!" Natasha called out to Tony. "You got one more drone incoming."

"This one looks different, guys." Emily told them as her eyes were fixed on the drone. "The repulsor signature is significantly higher."

When the "drone" landed in front of them, they quickly noticed that it wasn't like all the other drones. It didn't look like a drone at all. It looked like a suit. The helmet opened revealing Ivan Vanko. Melody began to get nervous, thinking about the last time she wore this suit around him and how well that turned out. "Good to be back." He spoke with a smile, referencing the Tony's opening ceremonies at Stark Expo.

"Oh," Rhodey spoke in the direction of Tony and Melody. "This ain't gonna be good." Ivan smiled at that, bringing out his electric whips like the sound of thunder. "I got something special for this guy." Rhodey moved forward, getting his armor ready. "I'm gonna bust him with the ex-wife."

"The what?" Tony asked him. When he didn't answer, he looked to Melody who shrugged. The missile grew out of the top of his armor and focused itself on Ivan. All of them waited in anticipation to see what the missile could do. Right when it hit Ivan, it just fell down next to the metal and fizzled in the water. "Hammer tech?" Tony guessed.

"Yeah." Rhodey spoke as the missile's holder went back into his suit, ashamed.

"That was very anticlimactic." Melody commented, still looking down at the failed missile.

"I got this." Tony spoke as he stepped forward, aiming at Ivan, getting ready to take him down, feeling like it was his responsibility. When he shot his bullets at Ivan, he put his helmet down, all of them not doing any damage to his suit which was bigger than all of theirs.

He brought his whips down on the water, sending them all flying back. Rhodey shot at him, but Ivan knocked his gun off of his suit. Tony flew in the air to get him from where he didn't expect it, but Ivan wrapped his whips around him and threw him into a rock. Melody looked over to Tony worriedly as Rhodey began shooting Ivan, giving Melody the chance to fly at him. Right when she got to him, he threw her over his head and she landed towards the end of the planetarium. He then grabbed her by the waist with his whips and threw her to the other side of the planetarium.

With a scream, Tony jumped from behind him, punching him in the head and landing in front of him. Ivan then head butted Tony and wrapped his whips around his neck. He moved to where Melody was laying and put his foot on her chest, beginning to crush her armor with the pressure he was putting on it and take her out of consciousness. Tony then remembered what Melody had done in Monaco. He grabbed onto the whips with one hand and began pulling him away from her. Rhodey got in front of Melody, managing to grab the other whip, leaving Ivan with nothing to do. "Rhodes!" Tony called out, thinking of something else. "I got an idea. You want to be a hero?"

"What?!" He asked in a confused voice.

"I could really use a sidekick." He brought his hand out, the palm facing Rhodey.

"This is your idea?" He asked him, unimpressed.

"Yup."

Rhodey brought his hand out anyway, knowing their hands were tied and this was the only thing they _could _do. Together they made a huge explosion, breaking all the glass and sending them all back. When Tony got up, he looked across from him where Rhodey pried open Melody's helmet to revel her still unconscious. "Melody!" Tony yelled as he got up, worry spreading throughout his entire body, knowing that explosion was not good for her in the state she was in, hoping she was still with them. When he got to her, he opened up his helmet and put his ear to her chest, but quickly pulled away, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear anything with the thick metal. He looked to Melody's face, grabbing it in his hands, giving her face a little shake while feeling the most scared in that moment than he had ever been in his entire life. "Melody? Honey?"

Her eyebrows began to knit together and Tony smiled at the fact she was waking up. With a grown, her eyes slightly opened, causing Tony's smile to get even wider. "Tony?"

"Yeah," He spoke while stroking her face with his thumb. "I'm here, Melly. I'm always here for you."

Her eyes fully opened and she began to look around as Rhodey put his hand out for her to grab, trying to help her stand up as Tony kept watch on her, ready to catch her if she fell over. "What happened?"

They all looked over to Ivan lying on the ground and began to walk over to them with both of the boys wrapping their arms around Melody to help her stand and walk. He looked so broken on the ground, losing the threat status completely as sparks began to go off on his broken suit. "You lose." He spoke weakly with his last breath before his head fell back.

Like it was a cue, right when he died, his arc reactor began blinking as did all the others in the drones. "All these drones are rigged to blow. We have to get out of here!" Rhodey told them.

All bit of weakness faded away from Melody's body and she went cold, thinking about where all the other drones were. "Clint!"

"Pepper!" All three of them flew out of the planetarium, Tony and Melody in the way of the Stark Expo.

Both Pepper and Clint were still standing on the steps, Clint working on telling her everything she had missed out on without including Tony's condition, knowing Tony wanted to tell her himself. That's when they heard the beeping. "Pepper, run!" Clint told her.

She began to run, but Tony came and scooped her up, following Melody with Clint. They flew in the air as multiple drones exploded in the Stark Expo, both of them finding a building to keep of them safe. "Oh, my god!" Clint yelled once Melody set him down.

He began limping and Melody took off her helmet. "Did you land on the leg that was stabbed?"

"Yes, I landed on the leg that was stabbed!" Melody moved to him, easing him down so they were both sitting on the roof of the building. Clint looked to her, breathing heavily. "Are you okay?"

Melody nodded as she checked him all over. "Are you?"

Clint nodded and the two looked to each other, staring right into each other's eyes. "We didn't die." Clint told her in a cheery voice.

Melody smiled at him and shook her head. "Jarvis, dissemble the suit." The suit came off around her and took the form of a suitcase again.

Clint looked down on it with a slight smile. "Did you make that?" She nodded when he turned to her and Melody began to lean in, wanting to just be with him, feeling like this was the moment they finally got to be together. "Melody," He spoke, stopping her with the shake of the head. "Don't."

She studied him with a confused face. "Why?"

Her voice was so cracked and broken, it tore Clint apart. "I can't do this to you." She studied him with a confused face, not understand this. "I'm going to New Mexico. I can't start this now. I can't start this here. I can't start this and be gone all the time on new assignments." Melody felt like her heart was breaking as she looked away from his face, trying not to let him see the tears in her eyes. "And after everything I did to you…"

He trailed off and Melody finally looked up at him, Clint finally seeing her tears, causing his eyes to water. "But you're my soul mate."

He smiled at her and the first tear came out of his eye as he put his hand on her cheek, wiping off a few of her tears. "And you're mine, but maybe we'll meet again when we're better for each other."

Melody nodded, feeling a little bit of happiness even if her heart was breaking at the fact that her and Clint were going to be separated for this long. Her heart held the happiness of the thought of the future. "If we're meant to be."

He leaned in, putting his forehead to hers. "We are."

She stared into his eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to rest her breaking heart. "Kiss me."

"Melody-"

"I know." She told him while looking down, but then back up into his eyes. "I don't care. Kiss me." The two leaned in and shared a very teary kiss.

When Tony and Pepper landed on the roof, she began screaming, Tony taking off his helmet as she put her hands on her face, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "Oh, my god! I can't take this anymore!"

"_You_ can't?!"

"I can't take this!"

"Look at _me_!"

"My body literally cannot handle the stress! I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or…or _wreck_ the whole company!"

"I think I did okay!"

Pepper threw her hands down, finally saying what had been on her mind. "I quit. I'm resigning. That's it."

Tony looked at her for a moment, letting what she had said sink in. "What did you just say? You're done?" She nodded. "That's surprising." He shook his head. "No. That's not surprising. I get it. You don't have to make any excuses."

"I'm not making any excuses." She clarified as she took a few steps toward him.

"Well you actually were just making excuses."

"No. I was not making an excuse." He began talking over her, trying to calm her down. "I think it's very justified."

"Pepper," He began as he grabbed her hand. "You've taken such good care of me and Mel." Pepper began to feel her eyes watering, not expecting this to ever happen. She would miss him. "I've been in a tough spot and you got me through it. Right?"

She nodded as she sniffed. "Thank you." Tony looked out at the city, trying not to let her see how much this hurt him. "Thank you for understanding."

He turned back to her, shaking his head, not wanting to talk about her leaving anymore. "Let's talk clean up."

"I'll handle the transition." She told him with a nod.

"Okay, what about the press because you only had the job for a week?"

"Well with you it's like dog years." She argued while all Tony could do was stare at her lips. "I mean, it's like the presidency."

He pulled her in for a kiss that she wasn't expecting, but enjoyed. She was finally kissing Tony Stark. A man she hated sometimes. A man who infuriated her in every way, shape and form. A man who she understood completely, sometimes better than he did. A man she loved. "Weird?" Tony asked her once they pulled away.

She sighed lovingly as she shook her head. "No. It's not weird."

"It's okay, right?" She nodded and pulled him in for another kiss.

"I think it was weird." They both jumped and turned to see Rhodey sitting down on the roof, watching them. "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

"It's not weird!" They both jumped and Tony turned around to see Melody and Clint leaning on the edge of the building, watching the two. "It's what I've been waiting for since I was ten and don't fuck with it, Rhodey!"

Tony looked back and forth at all of them. "Have you three been watching the whole time?"

"Yeah," Clint told him with a nod. "And it was super cute."

"Shouldn't you be getting to a hospital?" Pepper asked Clint, causing him to smile as he wrapped his arm around Melody.

"You should get lost." Tony told Rhodey.

"I was here first." He argued. "Get a roof."

"I thought you were out of one liners?" Melody asked him.

"That was the last one." He told her.

Tony laughed at the two as he wrapped his arm around Pepper. "You two kicked ass back there."

"Thank you." Rhodey told him. "You too."

"I know I kicked ass." Melody told Tony with a shrug so he just made a face at her.

"Listen," Rhodey began in a cautious voice. "My car got taken out in the explosion so I'm gonna have to hang on to your suit. Okay?"

Tony shook his head. "Not okay. I'm not okay with that."

Rhodey stood up and shook his head. "Wasn't a question." His helmet came back on and he flew off the building and into the dark night.

"You're not resigning." Tony told Pepper as she laughed and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Yes!" Melody cheered while looking back to Clint. "You don't understand." Clint smiled at her, knowing that he was going to miss her more than anything while he was gone. Especially the way she could talk on and on. "They're like my own personal version of Rachel and Ross; I've been waiting for them to get together forever and-" He cut her off by pulling her into a kiss and she kissed back. When he pulled away from her, she shook her head. "You're such a fucking tease."

He laughed as he pulled her in again and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her lower back, picking her up, constantly reminding himself that all they had was tonight.

_**Only one more chapter! Please review!**_


	12. Hawkeye and Dark Violet Forever

_**So here is the last chapter, guys! It's kind of bittersweet because I really liked working on this story, but I also can't wait to start the other one which will be called Melody Barnes: Start of Time and it will be in the Captain America category. This story will not have Melody in it, but it will explain Melody's ancestors and how she got the last name Barnes. Thank you all for reading and leaving reviews! I love you all! Enjoy!**_

Melody was down in the workshop all by herself, just enjoying the quiet as she let a wrench from her dad's tool kit slip through her fingers. It was a day after everything that happened at the Stark Expo and _everybody_ in the Stark group was sleeping in. It was noon and Tony had just barely woken up. He walked down the steps into the workshop, looking for Melody and when he saw her quietly playing with the wrench with no technology on, he knew it was because of Clint. He entered in the passcode and opened the door, but Melody still didn't do anything. "Hey, kid." He spoke cautiously, afraid to say something and set her off.

"Hey." She spoke, a little absentmindedly.

Tony sighed and began to go through some things on the shelf in the workshop. "I have something for you."

She put the wrench down and looked over to him, still with the sadness in her eyes. "What?" He moved to her with a tan envelope in his hands. "No." She told him as she turned back to looking at all the cars. "I can't handle another letter from my dad."

"I didn't know the last letter had data in it." He told her as he put the letter down right next to her. "So I opened it and read it before you did."

She looked down at it and turned her chair around so she could face him. "That's against the law."

"What are you talking about? The thing isn't even stamped." She gave him a look so he rolled his eyes. "I really think you should read this one, Melody."

She stared at him for a minute longer and sighed. "Fine." She picked up the letter and began to open it as Tony hurried up the steps. "I'll be upstairs making food."

Melody's eyes widened as she turned back to towards the steps. "Don't you dare cook for me!" She then turned back around to face the cars and pulled the letter out of the envelope. When she looked at the back of the envelope, she saw that, scribbled in her dad's handwriting, was, _when she finds the love of her life_. Melody's mouth dropped and looked back to the steps, wishing Tony was still there. She took a deep breath before unfolding the letter and reading.

_My Dearest Melody,_

_So, you've fallen so deeply in love that you know your life would be miserable if you didn't have that one. I assume it's a guy, but it it's a girl, that's okay too. I don't know what you and this person have been through and I won't be there to judge their character, but if you fell in love with them, they must be pretty great._

_I want you to know that love isn't easy. It's about give and take. It's about taking risks and compromising. It's about being brave enough to go the extra mile and I know you have enough bravery in you for the both of you._

_I don't have any preferences, whoever you fall in love with is your business, but remember that if you truly love this person, you have to give your all in the relationship. If you really love this person, don't screw it up. Never go to bed angry and always talk through your problems. Never leave anything unresolved._

_The only thing I want from that person is that they will keep you safe for your entire life and that they will love you until the end of time. I want them to love you as much as you love. I want them to pour their heart and soul out to you, talk about their problems with you. I want them to argue with you infuriate every bit of you and I want you to still feel the love for them even if you also want to rip their head off._

_I wish I could meet the love of your life. Shake their hand and talk with them. Get to know them and give you a wink after we talk, letting you know that I approve. I wish I could be there when you two decide to get married (if you ever do) and to hold my grandchild (if you ever have children). I know personally what it's like to grow up with the paparazzi obsessing over you and you sometimes feel like you have to do something because it's expected. Don't ever be with someone because it's expected. Be with someone because you love them. Say "I love you" every chance you get and love with all your heart. I love you, darling and continue to stay the sweet, open hearted girl I had the opportunity to spend ten wonderful years with._

_Love, Daddy_

Melody sat there for a moment and with shaking hands put the letter down on the work bench. After she read that letter, she just knew more in her heart that she loved Clint and that the two were one day going to be together.

She got up from her seat and ran upstairs. Tony was in the kitchen his back turned to her as he was failing at making grilled cheese. Melody didn't care if he couldn't see her. She needed him. She threw her arms around his waist and buried her head into his shirt. Tony was stunned at first, but then pat her hands, which were on his stomach, comfortingly. "You okay?" He asked her softly.

She nodded and then took her head from his shirt at the smell of something. She noticed Tony was looking at her so he couldn't see the flame. "The grilled cheese is on fire!"

* * *

Tony and Melody sat down at a desk in an abandoned warehouse right outside of Malibu in the middle of nowhere. Fury hadn't showed up yet so it was just the two of them around very expensive equipment. They were both messing with things, but all of the secure files were on heavy lock and key so it's not like they would find out some super top secret stuff. "The technology for this place is amazing." Melody told him.

Tony looked to her and smiled. She was back to wearing her old clothes and was now a newer Melody. A Melody with the best qualities from the old one and the new one. She was actually starting to get to know her mother, but taking it slow with baby steps. Sure, there was a sadness that would pass over her every now and then when something reminded her of Clint like when a hawk would fly by or when she would see the dill pickle chips they ate the night they got high, but after a little while she had grown to handle it. Nothing could compare to the first time Melody and Tony saw a hawk fly by and she just burst into tears on Tony's lap and he had no idea what to do or why she was crying. She had some kinks, but who didn't? He had never been more proud.

"You think this is the part where they kill us for knowing too much?" He joked.

Melody shrugged, spinning her chair back to the table they were supposed to be waiting patiently at. "You never know with SHIELD."

The door then opened, letting all the light of the day in, causing Tony and Melody to squint. Fury walked in and closed the door, leaving just the three of them. Both Tony and Melody had no idea what to do as he sat down in the seat in front of them. They both shifted uncomfortably when Melody finally decided to ask, "Are we in trouble?"

He continued to look at her as he slammed two files down on the table, causing them both to jump. They both had the SHIELD symbol on it and both read: Avengers Initiative Preliminary Report. They both took their own, but Fury put his hand on Tony's bringing it down to the table. "I don't think I want you looking at that. I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore."

Tony looked over to Melody who still had hers in hand. "What about her?"

Fury shrugged. "It still pertains to her."

"What?" Melody asked as she looked to Tony. "Did he not get approved or something?" She looked back to Fury who was giving her a knowing glance. She let out a stifled laugh as she turned back to Tony. "Holy shit. You didn't get approved."

"This," He spoke as he picked up another file. "Is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you." He pulled out another file and handed it to Melody. "And this is Agent Barton's assessment of you."

"That's not fair." Tony spoke as he looked back and forth from Melody to Fury. "The guy is in love with her. Of course she got approved. This is nepotism."

"We're not related."

"Just read your damn files." Fury told them in a tired voice.

Without another word, they both opened their assessment files, Melody's eyebrows furrowing at what was written at the top of it. "Melody Barnes/Dark Violet." She looked up to Fury with a kind of excited face. "Is that my superhero name?"

"You don't have a superhero name because you're not a superhero." He told her firmly.

Melody looked back down at her file taking a deep breath, trying not to take what he said too personally. "I'm a pretty super hero."

"That's your codename and that's the one we've been calling you for the past twenty-two years."

She looked down at the file again, feeling confused. "Why Dark Violet?"

"Dark violet is the military color for experimental."

Melody looked up at him, pursing her lips, annoyed with the name they had chosen for her. "Personality overview: Tony Stark displays compulsive behavior." Tony looked up at Fury who did not look amused. "In my defense, that _was_ last week."

"Hm," Melody spoke, turning to Tony, enjoying what was written on her file. "Personality overview: Melody Barnes displays immense selflessness."

"Immense?" Tony questioned as he turned to look at her file.

"Continue." Fury told them.

"Prone to self-destructive tendencies." Tony looked up to Fury again. "I was dying. I mean, please. Aren't we all?"

"Potential to be a great leader."

Tony rolled his eyes at her perfect little review and looked back to his. "Textbook…narcissism?" He looked up at Melody who shrugged, knowing it was true and then at Fury who kept his unamused face. "Agreed."

"Textbook…stubbornness?" Melody looked to Tony who shrugged in agreement and Melody rolled her eyes, looking back down at the report. "I am not stubborn!" Tony began to turn his head to her, trying to tell her that she was just being stubborn. "Shit." She said as she looked back down at the file. "I am stubborn."

"Okay," Tony spoke as he looked back down at his file. "Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative: Iron Man, yes." Tony looked to Fury and shrugged. "They had to think about it."

"Read on." He advised.

Melody leaned in to read over Tony's shoulder. "Tony Stark, not," He had to blink a few times to make sure it was right. "Not recommended?" He looked up at Fury with a confused face. "That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me, but not approve me?" He looked to Melody and moved so he could read over her shoulder. "What does yours say, Mel?"

"Melody Barnes/Dark Violet approved." She told him while shutting the file.

Tony looked back to Fury who was standing up like he was annoyed. "I got a new ticker. I'm trying to do right by Pepper. I'm in a stableish relationship."

Fury sat down right next to him on the table. "Which leads us to believe at this juncture that we'd only like to use you as a consultant."

Tony got up and shook his hand. He did feel rejected, but he wasn't going to think too much about it. "You can't afford me." Tony stood up from where he sat and began to move to the door as Melody continued to sit, knowing Fury still needed to talk to her. "Then again, I will wave my customary retainer in exchange for a small favor." They both turned to look to Tony, Fury giving him a worried glance at this small favor. "Rhodey, Mel and I are being honored in Washington and we need a presenter."

Melody turned to him, giving him a pleading face. He gave her a slight smile and nodded, turning back to Tony. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Tony told him with a happy smile and then continued walking to the front door. "See you at the house, Mel."

The door opened and shut, leaving just her and Fury. It was the first time she had ever been alone with him. "We have some things to talk about." He told her as he moved to sit in the seat Tony was sitting in. "I'm going to give you one of two options."

Melody didn't even know if she wanted to be a part of the Avengers Initiative. "What if I don't want either of them?"

He looked at her like he wasn't quite expecting that, but nodded. "Then you can walk away and never hear from us again." Melody nodded, but she wasn't sure if she wanted that either. If she was never going to hear from SHIELD again, she might never see Emily or Clint. "Option number one is that you can go and join SHIELD, become an agent and work with the Avengers that way."

Melody shook her head. "I'm not sure I want to do that."

Fury nodded. "And I knew that, so I created another option for you." Melody nodded, trying to tell him to continue. "You come to New York and we will train you so you're ready for a fight when we've got one." Melody blinked a couple of times. She would be leaving everything she had in Malibu. "You shouldn't stay there longer than six months." Melody's stomach was churning. Six months was a long time to be away from home. She didn't like the thought of being away that long at all. She didn't know anyone in New York. Her home was in Malibu. "It's kind of like a SHIELD Reserves sort of thing." Fury leaned back in his chair. "And you can also reject the Avenger Initiative." He threw his hands up. "It's your choice."

Melody sat there for a minute, mulling the options over in her head. "I thought I proved that I could be ready for a fight at the Stark Expo."

"You were almost killed in that fight, Melody." Fury shook his head. "In the big leagues we don't want that to happen." Melody continued to sit there, thinking about her choices, both seemed insanely important. These were two life changing decisions. He couldn't possibly expect her to decide right now. "I'll give you the weekend to decide." She looked up at him and nodded. "But I need my decision on Monday."

Melody nodded and looked around uncomfortably. "Can I leave now?"

He chuckled a little and nodded. "Yes. You can leave now."

* * *

Melody opened the gate to the cemetery in a floral sun dress and her mother followed, carrying the flowers in a white T-shirt and a denim skirt. "Have you ever been here before?" Melody asked as she turned to look at Emily.

She shrugged, still obviously seeming nervous. "A couple of times." Melody looked up as they walked down the pathway seeing the sun peeking through the trees. "I feel like your dad's birthday was just perfect timing."

They reached his grave and sat down on the grass in front of the headstone. They let some silence pass over them after Emily put the flowers next to the headstone, Melody thinking about how she was going to talk to her mother about what Fury had proposed. "Mom," Emily looked over at her, but Melody kept her eyes on the headstone. "What was your relationship like with Dad?"

She smiled a little bit and looked back to the headstone. "We were always avoiding getting together, not wanting to date someone else in SHIELD especially with who our parents were, but I guess we were meant to be."

Melody sighed as she turned back to her mother, deciding to just say it. "I was approved for the Avengers Initiative."

"I know." Emily spoke as she continued to look at the headstone.

Melody threw her hands in the air, feeling a bit of an annoyance. "Of course you know. You're the supervisor of SHIELD. What was I thinking?"

Emily turned to her, knowing Melody was upset so she put her hand on her shoulder and began to rub her back. "But you're not talking to me as a supervisor. You're talking to me as your mom."

Melody shook her head as she turned back to the headstone. "I don't know what to do."

Emily continued to rub her back and then shook her head. "I can't tell you what to do or influence your decisions."

Melody nodded, accepting that she was actually taking the backseat in her life instead of fighting with her on steering. "I'm just scared." Melody finally admitted as she turned to her mother. "If I give up the Avengers Initiative, that's my last connection with SHIELD."

"And with Clint."

"And you."

"You'll always have me." Emily told her while putting her arm around her shoulder, causing Melody to fall into her shoulder. "And you'll always have Clint." She nodded, knowing that, but without being involved in SHIELD, it felt like their relationship would just be different. "It's whatever you want to do, Melody."

Melody sighed as she looked up with a smile on her face. "It's a beautiful day." Emily nodded in agreement as she looked up with her. "Dad would have loved it."

Emily sighed at the fact that this was actually happening. Melody was actually in her arms. They were actually working on building a relationship. She knew it wouldn't be simple, but they were getting there. "I'm the luckiest mom in the world." Melody smiled, loving the fact that she actually now had a mom. Getting her back wasn't what she always pictured as a little girl, but she actually had her again. "Especially since my daughter is being honored in Washington DC."

Melody laughed and fell out of her embrace, lying down on the grass and looking up at the sky. It really was a beautiful day.

* * *

Tony, Melody and Rhodey stood on the stage in front of the audience with Senator Stern getting ready to present their ribbons. Melody smiled at Pepper who looked so proud sitting in the front row with Emily. "It is my honor to be here today to present these distinguished awards to Lt. Colonel James Rhodes, Miss. Melody Barnes and Mr. Tony Stark." He paused like he didn't really want to say the next words and Melody began wondering what Fury had gotten him to say. "Who are of course national treasures."

It took all the self-control in Tony and Melody's bodies to not burst into laughter right there after everything they had went through with Senator Stern. He went to Rhodey first, telling him what he was supposed to say as Rhodey just nodded and thanked him. He then moved to Melody, pinning her ribbon on her dress, but when he passed her, he gripped her shoulder a little too hard. He then moved to Tony and pushed the pin into his body. "Ow." Tony whispered.

"Oh, sorry." He spoke with a fake voice. "Funny how annoying a little prick can be." Tony and Melody shared a slightly frightened look when Senator Stern harshly grabbed Melody by the shoulder and pulled her in so the audience would see them. "Let's get a photo."

Melody put her other arm around Rhodey and Tony put his around Senator Stern. Right before the camera flashed, Tony threw up a peace sign, causing Melody's smile to grow wider. She would miss him. After everything they had been through, Melody knew what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to help people. She wanted to save lives and avoid crises. After they got off the stage, Melody pulled her phone out as she watched Tony and Rhodey talk with a smile on her face. She knew Tony would be proud of her either way. "This is Fury." She heard Nick answer.

"Hey," She told him while still watching the two. "This is Barnes. It's Monday and I have my answer." She paused for a moment, knowing this is what she really wanted to do. "I'm joining the SHIELD Reserves."

"Excellent."

"You might want to tell my mom to go by Carter now to avoid confusion."

Fury laughed a little, noticing the Emily in her. "I'll tell her."

"I do have one condition." Fury began to get nervous about what she wanted. "I get a week to come home every month."

Fury sighed, but knew this was the only way he could get her. He couldn't rip the girl away from her family especially that family. "You've got a deal, Barnes."

"Thanks, Fury." She hung up the phone and looked to the two again right as Pepper joined. Her smile grew even wider. Together, they were the original four. The people she had been closest to her entire life and would continue to be until the day she died. Tony looked over to her and waved her to come over. She smiled and ran to them, joining Tony in a hug. Fury could never truly pull her away from them.

* * *

Melody walked down what was left of the stairs of her Malibu home, knowing she wouldn't be able to appreciate this house for six months. Even if it was currently renovating, she still loved it. A lot had happened in the past week. Her mother came back. Clint came back. Tony almost died. She almost died. She completely evolved into a different person. She got a better grasp on who she really was. Now, she was going to New York. Leaving Malibu and going to New York. It still didn't feel totally real.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, Tony was sitting on their dirtied white couch. It was one of the only things that wasn't destroyed in the living room. "Hey." He told her casually.

"Hey." She sighed out as she threw herself down on the couch. It had been a stressful week and the weekend hadn't been any better.

He turned to her and noticed how exhausted he was, beginning to worry. "You all right?" She shrugged and he studied her more, thinking about how in a few days they wouldn't be sharing another moment like this. She would be in New York, staying at Stark Towers. "When's your flight?"

"Thursday." It was now Tuesday. Only two days away.

"Sorry you have to live in this dump for your last two days."

She laughed a little and shrugged. "It may be destroyed, but it still feels like home."

He smiled at her, but then the doorbell rang, pulling them out of their moment. "Pizza's here." He announced happily.

"I got it." She said as she jumped up from the couch with no effort before he could even begin trying to get up.

"Yeah," He agreed as he settled further into the couch. "You young people need to start doing more for us old people."

She smirked as she got to the door, opening it, not to reveal the pizza man, but Clint. She softened immediately, hardly being able to believe he was actually here and that this wasn't a dream. "Clint." She began as she moved out of the house, closing the door so Tony wouldn't hear their conversation. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in New Mexico by now."

"Um," He seemed to be really nervous. "I'm about to go there, I just wanted to stop by before I left to check on you after…everything."

She nodded and gave him a slight smile. "I'm going to New York."

He smiled back on her. He would miss her quirkiness. "Yeah, Emily told me."

She nodded and mumbled, "Of course she did." She then began to study him. "This New Mexico thing," He nodded, wanting her to continue. "Is it dangerous?"

He shook his head, trying to not make her worry, but knowing he didn't know what to expect. A god's hammer fell out of the sky. "It should be a really simple assignment. It'll be over before you know it."

She nodded, knowing he was lying and he knew she knew he was lying. They could read each other like a headline. "Well," She began in a voice that came out shakier than she expected. "Be careful."

He nodded, feeling sadness about leaver her again. "Have fun in New York."

She leaned into his chest and he held her. She put her arms around his body as tight as she could, knowing she would miss him. Knowing she needed him. Knowing she loved him. "Come back to me." She whispered into his chest.

"I always will." He whispered back before kissing the top of her head.

When they pulled away, a tear trickled down her cheek, but Clint caught it with his thumb, wiping it off her face. Melody smiled, thinking about all the times he had caught her tears. Part of her wished she could change everything bad that ever happened in their relationship, but the other part knew she never would because that's what made their bond so strong. "If you're in New York in the next six months-"

"I'll look you up." He finished for her.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be at Stark Towers."

He shrugged with a smile on his face. "That makes things easier for me."

She laughed as he began to walk backwards, not wanting to look away from her, taking his last long look at her for a long time. "See ya, Hawkeye."

He chuckled a little and nodded. "Bye, Dark Violet."

She let out a little chuckle as he got in into his car, giving him a little wave before he drove off. Once he was gone, she shut her eyes, letting another tear out. She was going to miss him, but she knew he would always come back. He _was_ her shadow agent and they _were_ both approved for the Avengers Initiative.

She let out a shaky sigh as she walked back into the house, seeing Tony still sitting in the same spot. "That wasn't the pizza guy, was it?"

She bit her lip, fighting back more tears as she shook her head. He gave her a sympathetic stare as he opened his arms for her. She let out a relieved sigh, knowing that no matter what, she still had Tony. She moved to him and curled up in his arms. He rubbed her back as he kissed her head, letting her cry on him. "He'll come back." She mumbled. "He always comes back."

He nodded with a slight smile growing, knowing that he was the love of her life. "If it wasn't obvious before, I approve." She chuckled a little bit through her tears. "And I know your dad would too."

Her smile began to get even bigger as she thought about her dad. "I wish he got to meet him."

He let out a deep breath, thinking about his brother. "I wish he did too."

The two of them sat in silence, just enjoying their embrace, thinking about James, the one who meant so much to them and was now just gone. Tony looked down at Melody, seeing so much of James in her. She had his brain, his features, but most importantly, his heart. Everything good in him was now in her, causing him to love her insanely. "You know how you've been trying to get me to do that clean energy thing?"

She looked up at him with a thinking face on. "Yeah?"

"Well, I was thinking that while you're in New York, you could work on that little idea for Stark Towers."

Her eyes lit up, causing Tony to smile even wider. "Really?!"

"Yeah, kid."

"Oh, my god!" She yelled excitedly while sitting up. "I have so many ideas."

"Let me hear all of them." She began talking as fast as humanly possible and Tony hung on to every word, appreciating that for the first time in the past six months, she was genuinely the happiest she had ever been.


	13. Melody Barnes: Start of Time

_**Melody Barnes: Start of Time is officially up!**_


End file.
